[Illuyankas]

So after the Tories got their NHS privatisation- oh, sorry, I mean healthcare reform bill passed - against the wishes of literally every single health-based organisation, doctor and fucking sensible human being in the country - and started selling off police forces and hospitals and roads, they stated they're going to show people how much of their tax bill goes to pay for which services in a fairly blatant attempt to go 'oh look, a third of your taxes go to welfare? BURN THE UMEMPLOYED' and continue demonising the 2.7 million jobless people stuck in a country with 400,000 jobs and a government that actively hates the poor and loves the rich. There's a table and graph here which shows what goes where from £15k earnt a year. £15k wages, £2,438.12 in tax, £812.71 to welfare, but most of that is for the elderly, children and disabled. How much you spend on the unemployed? £24.26 IN A FUCKING YEAR

FUCK ALL TORIES
FUCK THE LIB DEMS (and fuck Labour too for all the shit they should be and are not doing to even slow this shit down)
EAT THE RICH

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 19 March 2012 - 03:38 PM, said:

...Has anyone else ever introduced cats and dogs? ...

Yes, and you made the classic mistake most people make. Rushing. You need to start over.
Go to google, look up 'introduce dogs and cats and/or "introduce a second cat' - yes... "second cat". Here's one: http://www.samsmiles.org/catsdogs.html
Find the plan that is longest, usually several weeks.
Follow it. Treat your cat as the new/second pet. Follow every step, for as many days as necessary and then some.
DO NOT move on the next step until both animals are comfortable, and by this i mean the cat because dogs don't register these stressors the same way.

Follow one of these plans, or an amalgamation of several, over a period of weeks and your animals will get along just fine.
Rush it and your cat will kill you both in your sleep, gut the dog and wear it like a suit. Or just never settle in and pee on everything which, trust me, you DO NOT want.

Your 'safe haven' plan is owner fail. It cannot work because it means the cat is perpetually fleeing the dog and the dog thinks its ok to chase the cat. You can't establish 'territories' - they have to.

[Tapper]

QuickTidal, on 20 March 2012 - 03:33 PM, said:

I boiught an expensive metal gate for the room where her food and litter are, and it has a little pet door for her that hopefully the dog cannot get through (I may have to DIY it to make it a bit smaller) so she has a safe haven. Installed it last night and since the dog wasn't around I attempted to "spook" her into the room. So I pretended I was the dog and chased her...she went everywhere but the room. LOL Eventually I put her in there and she stayed in there to be away from mean old me...so my HOPE is that she will now see it as safe haven from the dog, but who knows. I cross my fingers.

What's messing with my groove is that whenever it is particularly slow at my office my father begins to naysay about the company and talk about shit like "It might go under" or "corporate might chop heads" ect. and it put me in a significantly foul fucking mood.

100 dollars? Why not install a simple cat flap into the door between her food + litter room and the remainder of the house? They're a very regular feature here and are available for as little as € 15,-.

[QuickTidal]

Tapper, on 20 March 2012 - 04:10 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 20 March 2012 - 03:33 PM, said:

I boiught an expensive metal gate for the room where her food and litter are, and it has a little pet door for her that hopefully the dog cannot get through (I may have to DIY it to make it a bit smaller) so she has a safe haven. Installed it last night and since the dog wasn't around I attempted to "spook" her into the room. So I pretended I was the dog and chased her...she went everywhere but the room. LOL Eventually I put her in there and she stayed in there to be away from mean old me...so my HOPE is that she will now see it as safe haven from the dog, but who knows. I cross my fingers.

What's messing with my groove is that whenever it is particularly slow at my office my father begins to naysay about the company and talk about shit like "It might go under" or "corporate might chop heads" ect. and it put me in a significantly foul fucking mood.

100 dollars? Why not install a simple cat flap into the door between her food + litter room and the remainder of the house? They're a very regular feature here and are available for as little as € 15,-.

I doubt Mrs. QT's mother who owns the condo would like me cutting a hole in the office door. Otherwise I would have done.

[McLovin]

The entire profession of Project Management.

It exists only to make things longer, more complicated, and less useful.

Never have I seen people be so busy doing nothing. And making everyone else do nothing.

If you are in this profession, please do the world a favor and kill yourself.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 20 March 2012 - 04:04 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 19 March 2012 - 03:38 PM, said:

...Has anyone else ever introduced cats and dogs? ...

Yes, and you made the classic mistake most people make. Rushing. You need to start over.
Go to google, look up 'introduce dogs and cats and/or "introduce a second cat' - yes... "second cat". Here's one: http://www.samsmiles.org/catsdogs.html
Find the plan that is longest, usually several weeks.
Follow it. Treat your cat as the new/second pet. Follow every step, for as many days as necessary and then some.
DO NOT move on the next step until both animals are comfortable, and by this i mean the cat because dogs don't register these stressors the same way.

Follow one of these plans, or an amalgamation of several, over a period of weeks and your animals will get along just fine.
Rush it and your cat will kill you both in your sleep, gut the dog and wear it like a suit. Or just never settle in and pee on everything which, trust me, you DO NOT want.

Your 'safe haven' plan is owner fail. It cannot work because it means the cat is perpetually fleeing the dog and the dog thinks its ok to chase the cat. You can't establish 'territories' - they have to.

We did do the process of keeping the dog on a leash and letting them be around each other a bit at a time and then separating them...which meant putting my cat in the office (where her bed, food, toys and litter are) when we weren't doing a daily intro session/ The problem arose from the fact that my cat HATES closed doors and refused to behave in the room at night, and spent all night pulling on the bottom of the closed door and banging it loudly (in the process forcibly removing a number of her soft paws claw covers). I put the gate with the little door in so she could go in there but not feel confined as she did the other night. I was attempting to be kind to her about it by doing so. In actually the link you posted tells me to do a variation on this (by blocking the doorway with a gate or crating the dog) to let them see one another but not fully interact. I still plan to do it slowly, but I can't have her destroying the office in the process, it's just not on. So I'm still going to keep the dog on a leash and do bouts with them around one another, and I have put things with his smell in her room and things with her smell in his area...

Further complicating things is the fact that the dog is A. Shared with Mrs. QT's sister (who lives in the next town) because they both can't be around to let him out enough due to their jobs, and B. he spends time away from the condo at her parents place (with their dogs) as well on days neither sister can get to him for walks. This leaves my cat the run of the condo too often by herself, and I am convinced that she is able (while he is away) to establish the condo as HER TERRITORY...so when he comes back into the situation every couple of days she's freshly annoyed.

So the gate was also my way of keeping her in the office without cooping her up. It's just a very difficult situation all around and I'm doing the best I can...but the way we were doing it was not being accepted by my cat (who is cranky on the best of days) and the dog spent the whole night camped outside the office door.
I am super stressed out.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 20 March 2012 - 05:40 PM

[Mezla PigDog]

McLovin, on 20 March 2012 - 05:32 PM, said:

The entire profession of Project Management.

It exists only to make things longer, more complicated, and less useful.

Never have I seen people be so busy doing nothing. And making everyone else do nothing.

If you are in this profession, please do the world a favor and kill yourself.

I find project management seems to be a scheme to stop people from actually doing the project that the project manager is trying to manage. I've sat in more Project Management meetings than I have Project Progress ones. They use Gantt Charts to hypnotise normal people into thinking they are useful!

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 20 March 2012 - 05:37 PM, said:

...We did do the process ...I am super stressed out.

Short version - Bluntly, i think you're still going about this too rushed and the end result will be unhappy for all concerned. Just jumping ahead to the 'cat in room dog on leash visit' a few times isn't going to get you where you want to be.

Long version - First, a quick fix for your office door cat issue - stuff thick towels or blankets under the door from both sides until the gap is fully blocked. Logistically daunting but it will make sense after a few tries. Blocks the part of the door the cat is reaching under and if you run the towels under both sides she can't pull them away to go at the door again.

Next - because the dog is coming and going, neither he nor the cat can acclimate to the new arrangement.
The leash thing is meant to be several steps down the line after scent and general presence intro.
Here is what i suggest and while it will mean some work in the short term, in the long term overall happiness is worth the effort...

1) confine the cat to one room w toys litter and food. visit regularly. stuff towels under the door. (if the door attacks persists you can also water pistol her under the door but we're trying to limit negative stimuli here.)

2) continue this for a week. no, seriously, work it out. no dog, no leaving the room. maintain the status quo and let the cat re-adjust to life in office with visits and no crazed weird smelling animals chasing her.

3) bring a blanket to the dog. rub it all over and shut up you perverts. do the same thing to the catand SHUT UP you PERVERTS. place the blankets near where either animal eats, then eventually under their bowls. do this for a week. given them treats on the blanket.

4) bring the dog into the apt. allow it to walk around but keep it away from the office door. remove the dog. let the cat out for a tour for an hour. at the end, return to office and do the blanket thing again. continue this for a week until cat is eating off the blanket and not freaking out when it tours the apt. gradually increase the tour time.

5) bring in the dog.let it hang out outside the office, sitting. no barking, no lunging, no dogcrazy. give both animals treats. do this daily for a week. keep the dog away from the office. Allow the cat to tour when dog is away again.

6) when dog is calm and cat is not hissing, crack the door and let them see each other. keep dog calm. allow cat to retreat. keep this short and slowly increase visit time.

7) again, when dog can stay calm and cat isn't hissing, allow slight contact through door, or gate, or with dog on leash, ideally a gradual progression. Give plentiful treats BUT DO NOT reward hissing or dogcrazy.

8) when everyone is behaving themselves, allow supervised visits, always where cat can retreat. separate if dog gets out of hand. repeat until they can be in the same space and ignore each other.

Overwhelming, i know, but it DOES work, and in an apartment this is essential.
Throwing them together and hoping they work it out just leads to stressed pets and owners and rarely a happy outcome. Your dog just wants to play with the new aimal and doesn't understand any of this. your cat thinks the dog is a possible danger. The 'just thrown them together' thing generally only works in a large enough house that the cat can efectively hide for days on end. you don't have that option.

Oh, and those Softpaw thingies - they fall off all the time. Don't count on them to protect your furniture. I recommend scratchpads and regular trimming and filing. And accept that something is going to get clawed whatever you do.

[JLV]

-Abyss, master of all things cat related.

[QuickTidal]

I am having an absolutely shitty, miserable fuck of a day.

Fuck this day. Fuck it entirely.

[Abyss]

JLV, on 20 March 2012 - 06:55 PM, said:

-Abyss, master of all things.

Fixed for accuracy.

[Hound]

@ QuickTidal: I have quite some experience with dogs and cats and it is really very important that you take it sloooooowly!! Don't rush! Don't be stressed (your animals can, and almost always will, respond to that in a negative way)! Do as Abyss said above, that's one of the best ways to introduce your animals to each other. Taking your time is also very important, you are probably going to need months to fix this right.

When you are at the part of introducing your dog to your cat, be absolutely sure that your dog is calm and submissive (actually your dog should always be like this)!! You can achieve this by exercising with your dog and by being a leader. It will save you a lot of trouble later.

About the protection of your furniture, you can train cats to NOT scratch your furniture without having the need to put things on like soft paws or trimming the nails. A scratchpost and a waterpistol (or something similar) are very handy. Oh, and you need to be very consequent.

See also: http://www.cesarsway...d/Cats-and-Dogs

[Abyss]

Hound, on 20 March 2012 - 07:18 PM, said:

@ QuickTidal:...Do as Abyss said ...

Wisdom!

Quote

See also: http://www.cesarsway...d/Cats-and-Dogs

More wisdom!


It's a good article. And note in particular the part about how if the dog is planted at the door it's NOT ready to meet the cat.
You have your work cut out for you, QT.

[rhulad]

That is unless you are running a cat and dog fighting ring...


Edit -- messing with my groove is the large number on my visa bill. FUCK YOU WASHER AND DRYER.

This post has been edited by rhulad: 20 March 2012 - 07:40 PM

[Abyss]

rhulad, on 20 March 2012 - 07:36 PM, said:

...messing with my groove is the large number on my visa bill. FUCK YOU STUPID SOCIETY THAT REQUIRES THAT MY CLOTHES NOT SMELL HORRIBLE OR POSSESS VISIBLE STAINING

Fixed.

[worry]

This incident has just been dominating my thoughts the past few weeks, and it just keeps getting worse and worse. But then I saw this: http://littlegreenfo...ood_Shot_Zimmy/
It didn't necessarily make it worse, since I already know these people exist in unending droves, and they're not as important as the actual event. But it's kind of the culmination that had a visceral impact.

[Captain Beardface]

Groove messed with: maintaining weight loss is so much freaking harder than losing the weight in the first place... Over the last month I've put ten pounds back on... Not freaking happy about it...

[worry]

That's called Jonah Hill Syndrome.

[Gwynn ap Nudd]

Fucktards are messing with my groove.

We can start with the client who decided on Monday that he wanted me on site Tuesday morning. Generally not a big deal, but when plane flights are involved short notice sucks. Throw in that they changed thier construction plan at the same time and it becomes a mad scramble to figure out if thier new plan works, book flights, update drawings, get people to cover for some of my other commitments, inform other clients that thier jobs are delayed, pack and get to the airport.

Add in the manufacturer, who ignored the construction drawings and added all the little bits and pieces they were told to leave off the bridge so that the cranes available could actually lift the freaking thing, and well it's a bit of a panic to put together something that actually works.

So I get it done, make my flight and get to site this morning. Ony to find out that the equipment supplier sent a larger crane than was asked for. Usually not a big deal, but if they had looked at the drawings once they might have realised that the crane they sent to site couldn't be set up in the space available. In other words, it doesn't work.

So we find out that nothing that fits with the original plan or the new plan is available on this short notice and I get to rework everything on the fly again. Which means modifications and new set ups etc. Cool, I can deal with that - except when it means that there was absolutely no reason for me to pull 14 hours Monday, 12 today and spend the night in a work camp. And now, I get to do it all again. Put in my normal day at the office tomorrow before flying out so that I can be back on site Thursday morning. And of course that screws all my other deadlines so badly that I'll be working 12s Friday through Sunday.

I am not impressed.

[Mentalist]

It is 12:29 AM

WHY THE FUCK are there birds chirping outside?