The questions
Each side comes with one line of the case for it. The rest is up to you.
Are dogs better than cats?
- DOGS
A dog is thrilled to see you, even if you only went to get the mail.
- CATS
A cat never needs a walk in the rain at 6 a.m.
- DOGS
Should pets be allowed on the bed?
- YEA ON THE BED
A warm pet at your feet beats any heated blanket.
- NAY OFF THE BED
You wash the sheets on Sunday and they're full of fur by Monday.
- YEA ON THE BED
Is putting your pet in a costume cute?
- YEA CUTE
A dachshund dressed as a hot dog is a public service.
- NAY LEAVE THEM BE
Your cat didn't agree to be a pumpkin, and its face says so.
- YEA CUTE
Should dogs be allowed in cafes?
- YEA DOGS WELCOME
A well-behaved dog asleep under the table bothers no one.
- NAY NO DOGS
Nobody wants a wet nose on their knee while they eat a croissant.
- YEA DOGS WELCOME
Can a goldfish be a real pet?
- YEA REAL PET
Kids cry at goldfish funerals, and nobody cries over a lamp.
- NAY DECORATION
A pet you can't touch is just a screensaver that needs feeding.
- YEA REAL PET
Is signing your pet's name on cards sweet?
- YEA SWEET
Grandma loves a card signed by the dog, paw print and all.
- NAY WEIRD
Nobody believes the hamster chipped in for the gift.
- YEA SWEET
Is talking to your pet in a baby voice OK?
- YEA ADORABLE
The dog wags harder at the silly voice, and that settles it.
- NAY EMBARRASSING
Your guests can hear you calling a 90-pound dog a little baby.
- YEA ADORABLE
Can your dog have food from your plate?
- YEA SHARE A BITE
A bite of plain chicken makes their whole day and costs you nothing.
- NAY NEVER
One bite from your plate and they'll beg at every dinner for life.
- YEA SHARE A BITE
About the host
Duchess Fluffington is a long-haired cat who owns a house and lets two people live in it. She spends her mornings on the windowsill, keeping an eye on the dog next door. She does not like what she sees.
She was the first guest to host a deck on The Lobbyist, which she considers the natural order of things. Her eight questions are about pets: who gets to sleep on the bed, and whether anyone should ever put a cat in a costume. She asked that the dog be left out of it. Then she brought up the dog four more times.
How to play these
Dogs or cats is the one everyone already has an answer to. Most people chose a side years ago and haven't moved an inch, which makes for a quick, loud round. It's also a hard one to fake in The Lobbyist. If the phone makes you the Lobbyist, you have to stand up for the other animal in front of people who have met yours.
The bed and the plate are the ones to watch. That's where couples and roommates find out they've been quietly annoyed for years. The goldfish question sounds like a joke until someone tells the story of their first goldfish funeral. With no phones out, read a question aloud, go around the table, and give each person one sentence to defend their side. For more pairs like dogs or cats, try these this-or-that questions.
About guest decks
Pet Peeves is Duchess Fluffington's guest deck for The Lobbyist, free to play from Sep 25 to Oct 1, 2026. A new guest moves in every Friday with eight questions of their own. See this week's guest.
The guest after: Snooze Or Lose, hosted by Gary the sloth.
Play the guest deck
Start a game and pick this week's guest deck, or Fuzzy Logic. Both are free.
Play free