"Your cats need to stop being so dramatic."

This weekend Ms. K and I took an important step in our relationship. I met her golden retriever, Harley. Harley in turn met my cats, Jasper and Theo.

Er . . . um . . . let's just say the meeting didn't go over too well.

I mean not like Ms. K and I are planning to go all lesbian-tastic and move in together after six months of dating, but we've wondered for some time what would happen if a cat person and a dog person were to cohabitate. Would it be a fucking disaster? Would her dog eat my cats? Would my cats tear up the house in retaliation?

On Sunday we tried a little experiment. Ms. K brought her dog from Pennsylvania to see what would happen. As expected my cats hid under the bed. As expected her dog expressed mucho curiosity over my cats. The experiment made me tense and while I was gathering something in another room, I heard all holy hell break loose.

Back in my bedroom, my cat Theo had darted out from under the bed, sensing a path of escape. Harley went after Theo thinking it was a game of chase. Jasper then went apeshit and shot out of his hiding space and started climbing the curtains. All of this took ten seconds, but upon coming into the room all I saw were flying cats and a dog struggling under the pull from his leash. The amount of energy my cats were exerting you'd think they were on fire as they darted off walls, curtains, and even lamps.

Ooof.

I found my cats hiding behind the recycle bin in the kitchen. They were stacked on top of each other, shaking, and Theo looking like he was about to cry. Oh man, perhaps Ms. K and I should have tried a different tactic? The interweb seems to think so. Tips here and here.