Introducing Cats and Food

My mother recently introduced two new cats to our one-cat household. Other than the many problems already inherent in this, there's one that's been bothering me - food.

Our first cat (female, spayed) has always had her own food and water dishes, upstairs. Since the other two (both male) have moved in, the entirety of the catfood has been moved downstairs, and my mother refuses to let us feed the female where she's used to; instead, she insists that she'll get used to it, and start going downstairs to eat.

She's /not/ getting used to this... instead, the cat's begging us for food, and adamantly refuses to go downstairs. (One of the cats she doesn't mind, but the other she doesn't stop hissing at) Is this going to work, or do I need to convince my mother that it needs to change?

Thanks,
Mevima

Until the merge is complete and the cats are all getting along, feeding separately is a good idea. In my house, I have 15 cats. I have one cat who is 10 years old, the smallest of my lot and clearly the leader. She always gets her dish put down first, and away from the others, then they all can get fed at the same time.IF I deviate from this, and just put all the dishes down at once, Rip will go down the line hissing, and swatting, and growling and drive every cat away from their food, she will then eat her fill and leave, then they come in to finish up.

So your mom's female should be fed upstairs away from the other two, it will help her to adjust to the males in her midst now. You can also tell you mom to give the males an old blanket to lay on, and once they have laid on it for a few days, take this blanket upstairs give it to the female and start feeding her on top of it. When her scent is blended into the blanket, take the same blanket downstairs and give it to the males.

Just to touch on the food issue. It's not a good idea to force a cat to adjust to a change that fast. If she refuses to eat long enough, she could develope liver problems. Once she is used to the boys, she may feel better about going downstairs.