To move or not to move?

I'll try to keep the long story as short as I can...

We took in a foster kitty (Waggles) in March and he has been living in my husband's office in our semi-finished attic. He's got a wonderful set-up there, lots of windows and sunshine. However, he's alone for most of the day but he does seem to be reasonably happy and sleeps most of the day (he's a senior). We've decided to keep our fosters separate from our own cats.

At the end of April, I set up a "foster room" in our basement apartment that we had been renting out (it's a finished basement apartment). It's not as big as the attic and only has 2 small windows that don't have a great view. I've already taken in another kitty (Herbert) down there.

So--do I move Waggles to the basement? I'm expecting he will be a long term foster (not many people want to adopt the old guys ) and there will likely be several kitties coming and going in the basement. He won't be alone so much but won't have the "nice digs" he has now. Herbert seems fine with other kitties, Waggles seems a bit grumpy but I don't think he would start any fights with anyone. Is it better to be alone in a really nice place or with other kitties in an ok place?

When you say he's a senior, do you mean he's, say, 11, or do you mean he's 16? There's a definite difference. An 11 (or 12) yr old cat still may have a lot of life left in him and I would suggest letting the cats make up their own minds about where they want to be in relation to each other and their 'digs'. But if he's 16 or over, then I'd keep him where he is, being just too old to be able to adapt again first to a new place, and certainly to another cat. If you're sure both are healthy, and strong, then give them at least a chance to check out each other (in neutral territory) and see how it goes - there may be hissing and prowling, but not necessarily a major fight, in which case give it more time, but if you think there could be real danger to either of them, be prepared to break it up and let them be where they now are. HOW you'd break it up, of course, could be a problem - depends whether you think it's ok to bring out a water 'feature' or not (I personally am not as concerned about the unlikely possibility of ear problems - on a one time basis - as I would be of the damage they could do to each other) or just having some flingable pillows around (and leather gloves for protection). If I were a cat though, I think I'd prefer to be upstairs (from the sound of it) than in the basement, with or without company.

Thanks for the input, Larke. We estimate his age at about 10 (he was rescued as a stray). He can be pretty peppy at times (we actually hear him running around at night) which is why I'm thinking he might want a companion. He does look down from the attic sometimes and meow at my cats (there's a door that has a 2" gap around the edges so he can see downstairs). My 8 month old kitten managed to get up there once when I was with Waggles and he didn't seem to mind her too much, he just watched her closely and hissed once when she got within about 3 feet of him.

Right now Herbert is confined to the living room/bedroom of the apartment. I might try putting them in the kitchen and see how they are.