PET Responses

Inspired by @CanYouPetTheDog, I shall attempt to list responses to petting cats, dogs, and other creatures in works of interactive fiction. It might also be helpful to know if PET is coded as a synonym for TOUCH, RUB, or KISS.

1982 (2014)

> pet Ruckus
Yeah right, and risk a nasty puppy dog bite?

> pet something
You pet [the thing].

All That Shimmers... (2025)

I think you wanted to say "pet something". Please try again.

TODO cases

Alma Mater (2006)

> pet Stev
You pet Stev. [if first time]He seems happy enough. Suddenly, while you're distracted, Stev leaps and grabs the card right out of your hand! He's getting slobber all over it.[end if]

> pet something
Petting things other than animals is rather strange.

A Beauty Cold and Austere (2017)

> pet Pennings
Pennings licks your face happily.

PET is coded as a synonym for KISS.

Bliss (1999)

> pet some creature
I don't think [the creature] would appreciate that.

> pet something
You have lost your mind.

TODO: Find out why PET is implemented.

Blue Sky (2004)

> pet llama
You run your fingers through the llama's coarse coat. It's warm and soft.

> pet some creature
I don't see why you want to do that.

> pet something
You can only do that to something animate.

Bonehead (2011)

> pet something
Keep your hands to yourself.

TODO: Find out why PET is implemented.

Bugged (2001)

> pet Rufus
This is not the moment.

> pet dragon
That would be dangerous.

> pet something
You can't do that.

Note: Rufus is a dog.

Bullhockey 2: The Return of The Leather Whip (2019)

> pet Snuggums [if fed]
You give the terrier a pat or two, and he turns his head to lick you, then goes back to his bacon.

> pet some pettable thing
You give [the thing] a proud pat. It's amazing how many objects can become sex toys.

> pet something
That's not what [the thing] is for.

Note 1: PET is coded as a synonym of KISS.
Note 2: Doing almost anything with Snuggums when he's unfed is ignored, as if you waited instead.

Bullhockey! (2018)

> pet something
You give [the thing] a vigorous rub, but nothing happens.

TODO: Find out why PET is implemented.

Bureau of Strange Happenings (2024)

That's just silly.

TODO

The Call of the Shaman (2019)

> pet something
You cannot stroke [the thing]!

TODO: Find out what can be PET in this game.

Calm (2011)

> pet character
You don't quite know [the character] well enough for that...

>pet something
[The thing] is not something you can stroke.

TODO: Find out what can be PET in this game.

A Castle of Thread (2017)

> pet Warpeye
Warpeye holds perfectly still as you pet him. It's as if he's simply allowing you to do so, rather than actually enjoying it, himself.

> pet Skayawa
You pet Skayawa and she purrs loudly and rubs her body against your leg as you pet her.

Note 1: PET is coded as a synonym of RUB.
Note 2: Warpeye and Skayawa are cats.

A Change in the Weather (1995)

[TODO]

Note: PET is coded as a synonym of KISS or HUG.

Also: Caffeination; Catch That Haggis; Chancellor; Christminster.

Charming (2018)

> pet Arthur
Arthur purrs, despite himself.

> pet something
You stroke [the thing] gently.

"It's cruel to pet inanimate objects in front of me," Arthur says peevishly.

The Chasing (2001)

> pet someone
This is not the moment.

> pet something
That would not accomplish anything.

TODO: There are horses in this game. I imagine that they can be petted but I'd first have to chase them down.

The Eleusinian Miseries (2020)

[petting pig or horse:] TODO
[else:] You have a policy of only petting animals: everything else either doesn't like it at all, or likes it a bit too much.

Finding Light (2021)

>pet me
You take a brief moment to [one of] comb your fingers through your hair to work out any stray tangles [or] dust off your clothes [or] rub the soreness out of the back of your neck [at random]. Much better.

TODO for other targets

Flattened London (2020)

[pet someone or some creature:] TODO
[pet me:] You pet yourself. It feels... good?
[else:] You don't quite see the point in that.

Frankenfingers (2025)

(I only understood you as wanting to pet someone.)

TODO

Gateway of the Ferrets (2019)

[pet untrusting ferret:] You cannot get close enough to [Cinnamon or Sugar] to pat [him or her]. [He or She] is much too quick. Maybe if [he or she] trusted you more?
[pet trusting ferret:] [Cinnamon or Sugar] lets you pat [him or her].
[default:] That noun did not make sense in this context.

Hercules! (2021)

>pet me
Restrain yourself, this is a family game.

TODO

Honk! (2023)

>pet me
You give yourself a good scratch behind the ears.

TODO others

Hypercubic Time-Warp All-go-rhythmic Synchrony (2022)

>pet [thing]
You affectionately stroke the [thing] but it doesn't reciprocate your affections.

TODO cases

I Am Prey (2023)

[TODO confusing result]

Jay Schilling's Edge of Chaos (2020)

[pet aye-aye:] The aye-aye enjoyed the attention. I don’t know what the onomatopoeia is for aye-aye noise, but it sort of buzzed at me.
[pet goat:] The goat resisted my attempt to coax it towards me. I’m sure if I were armed with a secret cache of aluminum cans, Billy would be dry-humping me till things got greasy.
[pet peacock:] I enjoyed “petting the peacock” as much as the next guy, but – OK, in truth, I don’t remember petting the peacock at that time.
[pet iguana:] I couldn’t get close enough to the iguana to pet it.
[default:] That accomplished nothing.

The first location is a petting zoo!

Mean Mother Trucker (2021)

> pet dog
You pet the sleeping dog. It grunts, farts, and flops over. Otherwise, the dog does not react.

Mite (2010)

What do you want to pet?

TODO cases

Also: Additional Tales from Castle Balderstone; By All Reasonable Knowledge; Dr Horror's House of Terror; How Prince Quisborne the Feckless Shook His Title; The Legend of Horse Girl; The Little Match Girl 4: Crown of Pearls; The Little Match Girl Approaches the Golden Firmament; Repeat the Ending; Retool Looter; The Semantagician's Assistant; A Thing of Wretchedness.

Monkeys and Car Keys (2025)

You start to pet [someone], but think better of it.

Napier's Cache (2020)

[pet bird:] No, on second thoughts you'd rather not touch the horrible creature any more than necessary.
[pet cat:] The cat hisses at you, and you think better of touching it.
[default:] No you can't stroke that. Sorry.

Rana's Reception (2025)

I think you wanted to say "pet someone". Please try again.

TODO cases

The Sacred Shovel of Athenia (2023)

>pet cat
You stroke the cat, who seems pleased. The catometer vibrates against your wrist and the needle rises.

>pet [creature]
[default:] I don't think [the creature] would be too happy about that.

TODO cases

Take the Dog Out (2021)

> pet dog
You pet Muffins. She seems content but not unduly grateful.

A Taste of Terror (2025)

Turbo Chest Hair Massacre (2020)

[no default response]

Where Nothing Is Ever Named (2024)

>pet something
You pet it. It purrs slightly.

>pet other thing
You give it a few strokes. It looks pleased.

>pet me
It seems completely unnecessary.

PET acts like HUG

The Impossible Bottle; Shadow Operative.

PET acts like PEE (via autocorrect)

When the Millennium Made Marvelous Moves.

PET acts like RUB

Arborea; Campus Invaders; Hinterlands: Marooned; The Magpie Takes the Train; Red Door Yellow Door.

PET acts like TOUCH

Bigfoot Bluff; Captivity; Chunky Blues; Citizen Makane; Crocodracula: The Beginning; Entangled; Gaia, Živa, Jarilo; A Rope of Chalk; Several Other Tales from Castle Balderstone; Sheep Crossing; Stuff of Legend.

PET is not understood

77 Verbs; 85 Verbs; > by @; A Bunch of Keys; A D R I F T; AardVarK Versus the Hype; Academic Pursuits (As Opposed To Regular Pursuits); Adrift; Advent Door; Alone; The Amazing Maze; Ancient Treasure, Secret Spider; Anolelona; Antique Panzitoum; Ascension of Limbs; Assembly; Awakened Deeply; Bad Beer; Baggage; The Bat; Beat Witch; Because you're mine; Being the Ending of the Beginning; Blind; The Blind House; Blink; Bloodless on the Orient Express; Blue; Blue Chairs; Blue Head Yurt; The Blueprint; Bobby and Bonnie; Body Bargain; BOFH; Bolivia By Night; Book and Volume; Border Reivers; Bored Ladders; A Boy and his Goat; Bradford Mansion; Brain Guzzlers from Beyond!; A Brain in the Rain; Brain of the Night Guest; Break-In; Breakfast in the Dolomites; Briar; The Bright Blue Ball; Bright Brave Knight Knave; Broken Legs; A Broken Man; Bronze; The Brutal Murder of Jenny Lee; The Bryant Collection; Buck the Past; Building; Bunt; Buried in Shoes; Business As Usual; Buttons; By the Lake; BYOD; Byzantine Perspective; The Cabal; Cacophony; Caduceus; Calliope; Camping!; Cana According To Micah; Candy Rush Saga; Captain Verdeterre's Plunder; The Cardew House; Carma; Carmen Devine: Supernatural Troubleshooter; Carriage Returns; The Carthage Corn Maze; The Case of Samuel Gregor; Casino Viridoso V; CASK; Castle Adventure!; Castle Amnos; Castle of the Red Prince; Cattus Atrox; CC; The Cenric Family Curse; Centipede; Cerulean Stowaway; Changes; Channel Surfing; Chaos (by Caron); Cheater; Checkpoint; Cheesed Off!; Cheeseshop; Cheiron; Chicken and Egg; The Chicken Under The Window; Chicken!; The Chicken's Dilemma; Chickens of Distinction; Chicks Dig Jerks; Chico and I Ran; Child's Play; The Chinese Room; Chlorophyll; Chronicle Play Torn; Class Challenge; Clickbait; Closed Circles; Coming Home; Containment; Crimson Witness; The Crystal Palace; Cut the Sky; Dash Slapney and the Calamitous Candy Corn Cornucopia; Deelzebub; Delusions Again; Desolation; Die a Hero or Become the Villian; Digging Time!; Digit; Dr Ego and the egg of Man-Toomba; Dr Ludwig and the Devil; Dust; Easter Egg Hunt 2020; Eat the Eldritch; Elsegar I: Arrival; Espresso Moka; Fairest; Fat Bear; Ferryman's Gate; Fired; For a Place by the Putrid Sea; Forbidden Lore; Foreign Soil; Forsaken Denizen; Founder's Mercy; Frobozz Magic Support; From Thanet to New Romney; Further; Galaxy Jones; The Gay Science; Gestures Towards Divinity; greenskeep; Happyland; Hebe; Hell Ride; The Hidden King's Tomb; Hildy; The Incredibly Mild Misadventures of Tom Trundle; Indistinguishable; The Interview; Intro to A Fool's Rescue; Kentish Plover; Kill Wizard; The Land of Breakfast and Lunch; Last Day; Last House on the Block; Last Vestiges; Lovely Assistant: Magical Girl; The Magnificent Museum of Masterly Masterworks; Marie Waits; Mingsheng; Miss Gosling's Last Case; Mix Tape; Moving (On); Mr Cuddle Cuddle Bop Bop; Narcissi; Navigatio; Nothing But Mazes; Nothing Could be Further From the Truth; Office Goose; Old King Nebb; One King to Loot them All; Operative Nine; Orchid Species of the Erastian; The Organ Grinder's Monkey; Phobos - A Galaxy Jones Story; A Pilgrim; Porter Cave Adventure; The Prongleman Job; Rain Check-in; Rainbow Bridge; Ralph (from SpeedIF 15); Reality Show; Sage Sanctum Scramble; Scarlet Portrait Parlor; Seasonal Apocalypse Disorder; Secret of the Starry Depths; So I Was Short Of Cash And Took On A Quest; Standing on the Shoulders of Giants; Stygian Dreams; Tableaux; To Sea in a Sieve; Tombs & Mummies; Tours Roust Torus; Traffic; Under the Cognomen of Edgar Allan Poe; Under They Thunder; Upon the Spooky House; Uptown 1; Vain Empires; The Vambrace of Destiny; Vampire Ltd; A Very Strong Gland; The Virtual Grand National; A Warm Reception; The Wayward Story; The Weight of a Soul; A Whispered Dream; Who Iced Mayor McFreeze?; Who Whacked Jimmy Piñata?; Why Pout?; Willy's Manor; The Witch; Wry; Zero Chance of Recovery.