@Fluttershy: Yeah, that works too. As long as you don't tell your animal trainers to train the cats as pets they tend to avoid connecting with the dwarf population too strongly, so you can serve them for dinner without some poor dwarf bursting into tears over the fried remains of their precious dear Mittens or Fluffy or Purr-mok.

I like to give all of my dwarves dogs for pets if I can. A military squad with a war dog pet attached to each dwarf as a pet can make Goblin ambushes very... abruptly discouraged.

i plan on butchering them anyways, not a big concern

@Paperbox: You obviously haven't ever played Dwarf Fortress.

Losing is hilariously awesome. The more dramatic the stupid dwarf trick you use to do so, the better.

@Fluttershy: I just don't worry about cats at all... I never set a pasture or tether, I just let them go where they want and do what they want. They do great on their own and keep the rats down like the rat diet's going out of style. I usually have a littler of kittens within the first year, and after that things can take off. I suppose it might make sense to pasture a cat or two on your food stockpiles, but other than that they don't really seem to care what happens to the fortress provided they can still go where they want and catch rats.

Fluttershy:
BEWARE OF THE CATSPLOSION.
http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/DF2010:Catsplosion

i just looked up fun and i think your going insane...LOSING IS NEVER FUN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK2FntOLoTE

@PaperBox

Watch that.

im thinking about starting dwarf fortress. but since its THAT malicious. im also wondering what you do in the game?

in my second fortress im currently trying to start up chicken, goose and cat breeding for food and money and whatnot, cats doing fine, and some chicken and geese got in their nest boxes...took awhile to get all my food storage's to not accept eggs. I guess nows a good time to learn how to start metal work and form a military. i havent encountered a goblin yet but its never too earlier.

Other Malicious Games:
Cortex Command
Super Cratebox

Fortress mode is dandy, but adventure mode is what gets me going. Can't wait until it's more fleshed out.

@Fluttershy: That's why it's so dangerous. Thank goodness for griefers and trolls or we'd never be able to stop playing AoS.

@Kanye: I'd recommend both the graphics mods and the wiki ( http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Main_Page ). The graphics set that's probably the most popular in the community (aside from just the default) is this one: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=53180.0

Although I have to warn you, trying to get into the game might be more strongly rewarded than you want to deal with...

Oh, and expect lots of "Fun" (look up "Fun" on the wiki if you don't get it).

I actually tried starting up Dwarf Fortress again for the second time in a few weeks. First time I quit almost immediately due to the almost impossible to grasp layout. (I did not know what the fuck was going on.) This time I actually started a game and noticed my little dwarves (dwarfs?) running around but I had no clue what to do. It's definitely something I'd like to get into, but I'll probably have to start with some beginner tutorials or something. Maybe I'll download one of those graphics mod things as well.

but but...In what other game can i decapitate people with socks or build forts to hide and shoot in?

Members of the community, I'm sorry to report that certain sandbox-type games have been declared dangerous and unsafe to play. Here are a few warnings for your safety:

Dwarf Fortress: While most individuals were found to quit the game early due to its complex nature, some individuals were able to continue playing for extended periods of time. Symptoms of prolonged use include confusion, distress, and a tendency to call unfortunate things "Fun."

Ace of Spades: This game has been found to be midly addictive, although it's proven so dangerous that it can kill off affected individuals before the addiction can develop fully. This is mostly due to excessive amounts of griefing, trolling, and hacking, although hacking has lately been replaced with an less serious trend of serverside hit verification. Experts predict that improved admin controls could cause this game to become pandemic.

Minecraft: This game was found particularly addictive to nearly all individuals. Exposure for as little as an hour caused most individuals to become addicted. Addictions were found to develop rapidly and cause such symptoms as a strong desire to display buildings, particuarly in the form of "Let's Play" videos and similar media. Fortunately, the cost of a Minecraft addiction has caused some individuals to resist exposure.

(I love off-topic now. I also love WAY too many sandbox or sandbox-ish games. For those of you wondering, this random post was the result of me developing a sudden and serious Dwarf Fortress addiction).