Editing 40d:Cat cancels Store Item in Stockpile: Too injured

{{quality|Exceptional|15:53, 29 April 2011 (UTC)}}{{av}}
{{D for Dwarf}}
<!-- NOTE - this fix is NOT a "modification", in the user-sense.  It is a line of code that got deleted between versions, and so is, in fact, "authorized".-->
:Your cat kills a [[vermin]] and drops it at your feet.
:You respond "Thank you, now go get rid of that thing right now".
:Your cat reaches down to pick up the vermin remains, but realizes it has no hands.
:It cries out "My hands! My beautiful hands! Someone has chopped off my beautiful han... wait, I'm a cat, I don't have hands. Right," and then continues on with its business.

This error [[announcement]] is actually caused by an old bug in the system which was reintroduced in 40d. When a [[pet]] [[cat]] kills a [[vermin]], it picks it up with its mouth and carries it to its owner, to bask in the display of gratitude that every cat owner shows upon being gifted small dead animals.

Once it gets to its owner, instead of dropping the vermin remains on the floor (as it should), it attempts to '''drop off''' the vermin remains at an appropriate location (much like [[herbalist]]s do with gathered plants), resulting in it being given a "Store Item in Stockpile" job targetted at one of your refuse stockpiles. However, since cats do not have any body parts capable of grasping, the job cancels with the reason "too injured" and the vermin is dropped on the ground.

This behavior does not occur with stray cats (since they don't have an owner, they leave vermin remains exactly where they were killed), nor will it occur if you have no accessible refuse stockpiles.

== Fixing the bug ==<!-- NOTE - this fix is NOT a "modification", in the user-sense.  It is a line of code that got deleted between versions, and so is, in fact, "authorized".-->

As your cat and vermin population expands this message becomes more and more common, but it is easy enough to fix by [[modding]] (the exact steps are explained below). You don't even have to [[World generation|generate a new world]].

'''Step One'''

Open <tt>raw/objects/body_default.txt</tt> and add a new entry:

 [BODY:CAT_MOUTH]
 [BP:CAT_MOUTH:mouth][CONTYPE:HEAD][MOUTH][SMALL][EMBEDDED][APERTURE][GRASP]

This creates a new body part in your dwarf universe. Specifically, a mouth which can pick things up. Now we need to attach this body part to the cat!

'''Step Two'''

So open <tt>raw/objects/creature_domestic.txt</tt> and edit the cat to:

 [CREATURE:CAT]
        [NAME:cat:cats:cat]
        [TILE:'c'][COLOR:0:0:1]
        [VERMINHUNTER]
        [PETVALUE:20]
        [CARNIVORE][NATURAL][PET]
        [LARGE_ROAMING]
        [COMMON_DOMESTIC][BENIGN]
        [PREFSTRING:aloofness]
        [BODY:QUADRUPED:TAIL:2EYES:2EARS:NOSE:2LUNGS:HEART:GUTS:ORGANS:THROAT:NECK:SPINE:BRAIN:'''CAT_MOUTH''']
        [BODYGLOSS:PAW]
        [SIZE:3]
        [MAXAGE:10:20]
        [ATTACK:MAIN:BYTYPE:MOUTH:bite:bites:1:6:GORE][ATTACKFLAG_CANLATCH]
        [CHILD:1][CHILDNAME:kitten:kittens]
        [FAT:1]
        [DIURNAL]
        [STANDARD_FLESH]
        [HOMEOTHERM:10070]
        [LAYERING:100]
        [SWIMS_INNATE][SWIM_SPEED:2500]
        [MUNDANE]

And you're done.

Note that you don't have to edit the <tt>[ATTACK]</tt> line, even though it contains a <tt>MOUTH</tt> too. This is because the "mouth" in this case is referring to the [MOUTH] body part token, not the body part itself (you'll note that our <tt>CAT_MOUTH</tt> has this mouth tag, too).

It should be noted that this fix does not actually correct the underlying behavior - instead, it ''allows'' cats to successfully complete their "store item in stockpile" jobs and haul the vermin remains to your refuse stockpiles.

{{Errors FAQ}}