Deaf cat not getting along with resident cat

I too have adopted a deaf cat, I have had her for 8 months, she was just over a year old when she came to us. I also have a very elderly cat (17) they are both female. I tried the slow socialization to the letter, I installed a door screen so they could see each other and feed.  We have never got to the point of being able to let them have any physical contact because the new cat hurls herself at the screen, chews the wire mesh of the screen and goes bezerk trying to get at my resident cat.  My resident cat has been a petrified nervous wreck now for 8 months and they have to "live" in separate floors of the house, doors have to be closed and cats moved around so they can each have acccess to the outside runs (the runs are attached to the house they are as big as a decent sized garden).  If they are both out in their own runs at the same time, the new cat spends all her time throwing herself at the wire divider. This new cat is very very affectionate with us but as soon as she gets a glimpse or whiff of resident cat she's like an animal possessed.  I have tried flower essence, feliway spray, pet remedy, zylkene, calm-eze.  I am at my wits end and feel I have created a huge problem in the house, as in everyone has to be aware where each cat is, be careful of doors, read the notes on doors etc., it's a crazy situation.

Here is a picture of my deaf cat.  Is their anything I haven't tried? do I have to admit defeat?

I misstated in this post that I suggested by P that she re-home her resident 17 year old cat. Nothing could be farther from the truth, i just got confused in my post here, and I apologize. What I suggested to her privately while her post was getting help from a moderator was that she consider rehoming the deaf cat or returning her to the shelter, that 8 months was long enough and that when the new cat shows aggression that's a bad predictor for an introduction.

Apologies for the confusion and my general dunderheadedness!

Hopefully some of our members will come along and give you advice. . I've always been a one cat household so unfortunately can't give suggestions. I would think that before a rehoming discussion there are a few other things to try. . In my opinion if any cat were to be rehomed, it should be the newcomer though, not the elderly resident cat. :dk:

Is it the deaf cat that is being the problem?  Have you consulted a behavior specialist on this matter?  This may be your only choice.  It sounds like a behavior specialist issue to me and I doubt anyone here can help you except a professional.  Asks your vet to recommend one to consult with (Vets are not behavior specialist).  It may be expensive but since you've already tried everything else, it couldn't hurt to make sure your kitty doesn't have some sort of chemical imbalance or psychological issue.  This could be helpful to know before rehoming either one.  Because you may just be passing on a problem to someone else.  Plus, a lot of people might put her down rather than try to find out what's wrong and help her.  It is the responsible thing to do. 

And it seems to me you really want this to work as most would have thrown in the towel by now.  So, it couldn't hurt to find out.  And if she does have a chemical imbalance or issue, there are medications that can really help her.  Good luck!! 

I think it's wonderful that you've been trying like this for so long and haven't given up on the cats. I definitely don't think you should re-home the resident cat. Re-homing a 17 year old cat, even to the best of homes (which is hard to come by) can be devastating for that cat. A younger cat, even deaf, has a better chance at adapting to a new home. 

I wouldn't give up at this point though. I'm not surprised flower essences didn't help as they are nothing but placebo. Feliway has a scientific basis in theory, but I'm still not convinced there's concrete evidence as to it efficacy. That leaves us with behavioral modification and/or medical psychiatric drugs (yes, the two methods are often combined). Have you discussed the behavior with your vet? Maybe he can offer a drug therapy that can help your new cat adjust more easily. Behaviorally, since she is deaf, have you tried de-sensitizing her to the scent of the older cat? One way to do that is to take an old clean sock, wear it on your hand and pet the older cat with it for a few minutes. Gently scratch her behind the ears and under her chin if you can, to get the most scent on the sock. Then, without bringing the two cats into contact, put the sock in the area of the new cat. If she goes crazy, stay calm and don't interfere. She can't hurt herself or the other cat as it's only the sock. Try to see how long it takes her to relax in the presence of the sock. If she's still agitated, remove the sock after a few minutes, staying as calm as possible. Repeat again the next day and see what happens. The idea is for her "crazy spells" to grow shorter in the presence of the scent of the older cat, until she can accept that.

Let us know how that goes. You may eventually need to work with a cat behaviorist on this issue, someone who can come to your home, assess the character of both cats, look at the area and suggest a very concrete plan, ideally working with your vet too as may be necessary. Where are you located? Maybe we'll be able to suggest a reliable one.

Hi Everyone, sorry I didn't realise I had replies on this post until today. Thank you Stephen for giving me help via private message , much appreciated.

Re-homing my resident cat was never an option, so a litttle misunderstanding there. She is 17, I've had her since a kitten an adorable cat, a little arthritic in the back legs. I have a feeling she may have started the hostilities herself by hissing at the newcomer but never trying to attack her, I know that sometimes cats who are in a bit of pain will try to keep other cats away from them by warning them. We did the scent swapping, seemed ok, put the mesh door panel up to slowly start feeding within eyeshot of each other, started off ok at first then reached the point where the new deaf cat wouldn't touch her food when she saw the old cat, the resentment gradually escalated to the point where the new cat flings herself at the mesh all growly and hissy, old cat carries on eating but will eventually run off.

I live in Suffolk in the UK. My vet gave me zylkene, which I didn't think did enough to change the situation.  Deaf cats are always on high alert and quite jumpy but apart from that she is very very affectionate, this is all a great shame as we have the perfect set up to create a safe environment for her, with her own safe garden. The two cat gardens have been planted with cat calming plants too. The vet didn't feel there was anything wrong with her

I have discussed re-homing the deaf cat with my husband but he says it would break his heart and he knows that it would break mine too even though I mentioned it myself.  I felt guilty about putting the house under so much strain but he says he is happy to continue the segregation in order to keep them both and pointed out that our resident cat may not have that many years left herself.  We have decided to give introductions another shot, start from scratch so to speak.  We have used feliway spray but not the diffusers, the price put me off but we are thinking of investing in several and putting them in place a few weeks before we do the introductions.

Thank you for all the replies, I will let you know in the coming months if we have any success

A really long, slow introduction and the Feliway may just do the trick..

Please do keep us posted!