Introducing cats, and do cats remember people?

Hi there!  A year and a half ago I fostered a cat by the name of Amelia. I fell in love with Amelia but I couldn't keep her so the original owner found a new home following me.  The new home that Amelia went to ended up not working out so I was called upon to take her since I'm in a position where I can now.  However, I have another cat now; Lisbeth. The two have been separated since the day I brought Amelia home--which was 3 days ago. Amelia is in the guest bedroom with her own litter box, food and water.  She has not met Lisbeth face to face yet but they are aware of each other and Amelia has been hissing and growling quite a bit!  She has even swatted at me.  I'm guessing this is because she can smell Lisbeth.  Fortunately, Lisbeth is not doing any hissing and growling and it is only Amelia.  Amelia is very aggressive and I'm trying not to be too worried.  How much time do I give them?  What are some things I can be doing in the meantime to make this less hellish?

Also, do cats remember people from their past?  Amelia last saw me a year and a half ago.  Thanks for any and all advice/input!

Yes, they usually recognize their previous Ma, even years afterwards.  Your question is she seems not to recognize you?

I think here is some element of feeling unsecure.  The stress of feeling unsafe makes her not recognize you, makes her also do a defensive stand to your friendly resident.

SOME hissing is natural, but as your resident dont hiss...

So, time, patience and love from you.

If you afford to have a Feliway diffuser it can help. 

There are nowadays other sorts of calming collars, described in our Reviews, which may be useful too.

Soft, calming, relaxing music is useful. Preferably classical harp music...

I shall give a link to nice introduction description from LDG, which may be useful for you too...

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/242527/not-sure-what-path-to-take#post_3187828

Good luck!   *vibes*

Thank you for your reply!  I went and purchased the [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Feliway diffuser and am waiting to get it in the mail.  Hoping it works![/color]

I have noticed and feel very strongly that cats from my past or that I have rescued remember me.  King Arthur and Morgan La Fay's mother, Genevieve, always comes over to give me snuggles and thanks when she sees me.  My sisters cat Belle remembers me.... And she only sees me on average about once a year. 

Feliway has never been successful for me.  Some people say you have to try it for a month or more to see any results.   But if you're dealing with a behavior problem, that is too long... Plus it's expensive.  I use the calming collars.  It's basically the same concept except that it's around their neck and constant... And it's pretty much immediate.   However, like feliway, it may not work for all cats.  I hope you have good luck but if not the calming collar can be an alternative to look into... And it isn't as expensive. 

Great, thanks, I'll look into calming collars!  

Amelia has totally chilled out since I posted.  She no longer hisses and growls at me and her hissing in general has gone down quite a bit.  Admittedly I was a little offended cause I gave her such a loving home, thus my question with whether or not cats remember people.  She does still hiss at the door though, so hopefully these calming devices can work some magic in that regard.  

Yes, cats remember people. 

Ever befriended an otherwise very shy cat, who knew you and liked you but was still very shy? I did this a few times. Both were my neighbor's outside cats. One had some kind of lip injury and was always grumpy (he was treating it, but she was still grumpy), and she would hiss at me every morning as I walked by her sunning spot. The day we made friends was when I saw her slow blink at me and look away. I took that as my cue to approach cautiously and sure enough, she let me pet her. Since that day, she would meow at me happily when I'd go to work and I'd give her a few pets before heading out. She remembered me.

Another cat had a very long flight distance. She didn't trust people too much, but she would just look at me cautiously. I would sit down in front of my garage and meow at her, slow blink and look away, all the good stuff friendly cats might do. Eventually, she's get close enough to let me pet her and then it was easier every time because she remembered me. Instead of waiting 10 minutes for her to get close...she's pretty much come over in a minute or two. 

So yeah, I'd say cats remember people. Unfortunately, my own cat remembers when I tried to put prescription eyedrops in his eyes and now he longer sits in my lap. Breaks my cat-lovin' little heart. 

As said by others, cats do remember people. I think that the issue is that it may just take Amelia some time to settle back down into the new environment. Cats really don't like being subject to changing environments so having changed her home so often may have her angry right now. Hopefully if you keep giving her attention and start to introduce her to other parts of your home, she should start to transition back to being calm. Hope this helps!

My parents' cat definitely remembers me, even though it's been about for years since I lived with them. She hides from strangers, but she never hides from me when I visit them twice a year. She runs up and rubs against my leg and tries to jump in my lap when I sit down.

Amelia is just feeling stressed out by the change. Most cats don't like change. It makes them defensive and nervous. Over time, she will relax, though the two cats may never be friends. The best you can hope for is a peaceful truce with the occasional face off. If they turn out to actually like one another, count it as a bonus.