Need advice on 'Patio Cat'

It's a bit of a long story...

I have a six-year old cat named Miranda, who is the queen of the apartment. It's always been just me and her (since she was two months old), and she pretty much owns the place (I just pay for it).

A few years ago, there was a semi-feral cat who started showing up on my covered patio. I slowly won its (not sure if it was male or female) trust with treats, and over time, it came to trust me. I was afraid to bring it in, because I didn't know how it would assimilate with Miranda (it was very skittish and food-aggressive). I ended up putting a covered cat bed on the patio, and giving 'PC' food, water and treats every day for two years, until it (sadly) disappeared. Even though it never came inside, I treated it as part of the family (my cat-sitter had instructions to feed it and make sure its water was filled). We were buddies - PC trusted me enough to lay in my lap and nap for a while after it ate. I was devastated when it disappeared.

As of last week, there's a new stray in town. A sweet, friendly little thing. I've been feeding it as well, and getting a TON of affection from it. Now, normally I'd consider this my second chance, to correct the mistakes I made in not bringing PC into my home. But, in addition to my endless concern about Miranda's happiness and well-being (she's such a neurotic little diva - my fault, I fear), there's also a new wrench in my plan - I'm moving in a month. My catch-22 is this: I'm afraid to take this cat to the vet, get it checked out, and then try to begin the integration process, only to shake up Miranda's world in another month (moves are never easy, and I'm most likely moving to a studio). Miranda is, of course, always my top priority because she and I are ridiculously bonded. At the same time, I feel a responsibility to this sweet cat, and I can't just pack up and abandon it. So, I'm stuck. I don't know WHAT to do. Life is about to get hectic, what with packing and upsetting my little creature of habit Miranda enough as it is.

I'm so sorry your other buddy disappeared.

I know not everyone feels the same sense of responsibility, but the first thing we do with any cat that turns up is trap them, get them to a vet to be spayed or neutered, treated with Revolution (treats fleas, ticks, and internal parasites), and a rabies vaccination. Then if they're friendly, because we're at our limit for cats, we work to find the kitty a home. There's a number of ways to do this.

A good place to start is http://www.petfinder.com. There is a link in the top row where you can search for shelters. You can also just type in your zip code and search on "cat" and a list of all adoptable cats will come up - each with a shelter/rescue listed. You can scroll through the pages. By clicking on the cat, it pulls up a page where you can link to the shelter info - and you can conduct a phone and e-mail campaign to find a foster network or no-kill shelter that MAY have space to take in your friendly stray.

Just bear in mind that almost ALL rescues are under-funded and under-staffed, so responses may not happen, may not be quick, and people may be rude. That said, if you've already put effort into the stray - such as spaying/neutering, paying for shots &etc., that goes a long way toward rescues being more receptive to the situation. You are catching the end of kitten season, so your chances of finding a place to take her are higher than just a month or two ago... but it's still slim.

If you cannot afford spaying/neutering at a regular vet, you can also search for low-cost places. Just google "low cost neuter ......" and fill in your town, a large town near you, or the county, and your state. For example, here I'd search for "low cost neuter Warren County, NJ."

In the meantime, you can get a quick read on how Miranda would react to the new kitty if you're able to pet new kitty. Grab a wash cloth or clean rag, and rub kitty while you pet it. Bring this "scent" inside with you and let Miranda check it out. If she freaks, you simply don't have time to integrate kitty, especially with the move coming up, and I'd just focus on finding kitty a home.

If she doesn't freak, I'd work on scent swapping, getting them to associate each other with "good" things (such as food) - and as soon as possible get new kitty to vet, make sure it's healthy (have it tested for FeLV and FIV)... and if the vet or clinic doc gives you an "all clear," then I'd try bringing new kitty in to as neutral an area as you've got (a kitchen maybe?) for 15 minutes or so - see how it goes. Does new kitty freak being inside? If so - again, you probably just don't have time, with just one month.

But without trying, you won't know.

We just integrated an 8th cat into our home, and we live in an RV - so even smaller than a studio. The key to making a multicat home work in a small space is as much vertical space as possible. Cats don't actually need a lot of territory - they need a lot of stimluation. We rented a trailer because we had no place to separate Charlie to make slow introductions - and he had to get used to living inside as well. He did NOT freak AT ALL about being inside - he clearly understood it was a good thing. Our situation is different, because we have a feral colony, and the dynamics were such that we had to get Charlie "off the streets," so to speak. But when we decided it was time for intros, we'd put him in a crate and bring him over her for short periods of time each day, making his stay a little longer each time, and then we just didn't take him back to the trailer one day. We'd done scent-swapping prior to bringing him here the first time so no one was surprised by any "new" smells. But with your stray being basically "safe" and not part of some "gang" outside, you don't have to bring the cat inside full time right from the start.

I've gotta run, but I'll check back in when I can to provide links to some helpful threads - both about integrating a cat from outside, and about making a move and how to keep Miranda as stress-free as possible (whether or not new kitty is going to be coming with you).

One good thing about moving them both into a new place is technically none of it will already be their territory. So maybe it will work.

OK, some links.

Diggerled brought a stray inside - they had a lot longer than a month to work on the process, and it's not all collected into one thread. Here are some relevent ones:

When the stray first showed up: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=197319

Scent-swapping: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=201790

Marlow walks in: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=203825

Kitties meeting/interacting - video with TCS reactions may be helpful: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=205008

Using the litterbox: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=206906

Marlow's first night inside: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=206776

Marlow's inside-only for 22 days: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=209162

You can click on diggerled's username in any of the threads - you can use that to go to the public profile. Once there, you can click on "statistics" and then click on "all threads" started by diggerled if you want to follow the intro story more closely. Or PM diggerled to chat about the situation.

If you have some time, you may want to read the introduction process we used with Charlie. It's a long read because I blather on, but scent swapping basically starts on page 4: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...=217397&page=4

Strange Wings is right, "new" territory is probably helpful. But I wouldn't just spring a new cat on Miranda. I'd start intros now, and if things are going OKish by the time of the move, I'd just see moving as the opportunity to move the stray inside full time as a member of your home. They'll both be so... distracted by the move, and the new territory will be "not claimed" already by either, so that likely does work to your advantage in integrating the new stray as a member of the family full-time.

In the meantime, I'd lavish love on Miranda, always pay attention to her before the new kitty - and help her think having the new cat around is a total party - it means more love, more attention, and more treats for her! The idea is to get her to associate having new kitty around with things she loves - it helps her accept the new kitty.

I also explain everything to our cats by talking to them. I tell them what's happening and why. Stuff like - I don't need you guys to be nice to Charlie, but I do need you to share your space with him, because he's homeless just like you were, and he needs a place to live and he's got a virus, so he needs some special care.....

Thank you all so much for your wonderful advice! I'm going to play it by ear, and see what Miranda thinks of our new friend. I already know that, even if integration isn't possible, this sweet cat won't be left in the lurch. I'll make some sort of arrangement to keep it safe and happy. But in the meantime, I have a month. So let's see what happens!

Thank you again!