It was like the original where you had to learn by looking at its facial expressions what it needed. But there is an easier mode if you press "i" while in the pet screen it will show the hidden stats and make it easier to make decisions on what to do.
The Coin collecting is meant to kick you out after a while, you should always be able to get 3-4, 5-8 takes a little luck, and 9-12 takes more luck, and anything more than that is really lucky. It's part of the design so that you have to keep working in order to keep feeding the pet.
Thank you and thanks for playing!