A lot of kitties from Monterey!

My hubby and I live in Monterey with three SPCA rescue kitties we adore--they're all around 3 years old.  Our girl Zoe is under my arm in the photo; Ozzy is in front on the left and Rico's on the right.  These three get along great--they sleep, eat, hunt and play together.  Now, in a bizarre turn of events, we've just inherited four more cats from a friend who died suddenly.  Travis is a healthy 17 year old male; Jake is a 13 year old male with IBD; Molly is a 10 year old female, also with IBD; and Hannah is a 10 year old healthy (but timid) female.  Crazy, huh?  We've had the newbies about three weeks now and are keeping them separate.  They have a room with an attached enclosure on our back patio so they can get outside and still be safe.  The new routine of giving meds twice a day, taking care of and trying to get to know and play with that many more cats, separately from our group, has been somewhat overwhelming.  The new guys are sweet kitties, though, and we are going to try to keep our promise to give the kitties a good home and keep them together.  

I'm quickly reading up on integrating new cats to a multi-cat household and we're trying to exchange bedding and toys between the two groups so they get used to each other's smells and all that stuff.  We did try introducing our mellowest cat to what seemed like the mellowest cat of that group with disastrous results--a big fight.  Some days I think we'll all be okay and be able to integrate, some days I'm discouraged.  

Hi and welcome to TCS! Your furbabies are beautiful. Bless you for taking your friend's cats. It sounds like you're doing the right thing on introductions. I'm wondering if a Feliway pheromone diffuser or two may help?

Thanks for the welcome! We got a pheromone diffuser right off for the newbies' room and now I've put one in our bedroom and the TV room (the two rooms our kids hang out in the most).

That's great! Lots of vibes for a smooth integration of your kitty family. By the way, there are members here who have as many cats or more as you do, so there's lots of support and experience here if you need it.

I'm delighted to know there are other multi-cat households and looking forward to connecting with some.  I was a one-cat woman for almost 18 years until my beloved "only child" passed three years ago.  After my first baby was gone, we intended to adopt a single black cat I saw online at the SPCA, but got talked into taking her brother, a tuxedo, too by my neighbor who worked there (and who should get an award as the world's best used cat salesperson!)    Then we got the third, also from her--another beautiful tuxedo who was about to be put down because he'd been at the shelter too long.  No regrets--they're all precious and I'm glad they have each other for company, they get along great.

To get four more all at once unexpectedly was a shock!  But we're adjusting and hoping to integrate these sweet newbies into our home and the rest of our cat family at some point.  I'm learning that patience is the key!  

A warm welcome to TCS!  I'm sorry to hear about your friend.  I think it is the kindest thing that you and your DH have taken in your friend's cats.