Introducing semi-feral to my resident cat

Does anyone have advice for helping my resident house cat Henry get along with a former feral that I've brought into the house? Georgie (turned out to be a girl) was sleeping in my basement all summer and going out during the day. With winter coming and it gets dark so early, I couldn't keep her in the basement for 12 or more hours a day so I decided I have no choice but to bring her in.

Henry is 14 and up until a few months ago lived his whole life with my other cat Hannah (she recently passed away). Henry actually seemed to enjoy all of the extra attention he was getting after Hannah passed. And then I went and brought in only the second cat he's ever met in his life!

All in all, I think it's going well. The feral is an expert at meeting other cats, she has never hissed, growled or made a move towards him. Henry does a lot of hissing and growling when he sees her. I feel SO bad doing this to him, he is so happy when she's not around. (I don't know if I can ever make her totally indoors).

He spends most of his time in his bed in the closet where he feels safe. I try to bring him downstairs but he runs away upstairs every time he sees her. A couple of times we had a few successes (sat a few feet away from her, played a little when she was in the room). What can I do to give him his house back? She uses all of his stuff (litter pan, food bowls) and I just feel so bad that I did this to him.

It's only been about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks and she is usually out during the day. Will it just take more time? Help please!!!

Thanks!
Lee Ann

You need to do the process slowly.  For right now there should be no face to face interactions between the two.  You need to start with scent swapping and then move forward at a very slow pace.  Cats can take weeks to months to many months to many many many months to learn to coexist.  I brought a feral cat into my home 2 years go and it took he and my resident cat one solid year to learn to coexist.  Now they are buddies and love to play with each other.  Yet we had many troublesome months.  I rushed the end of the intro process which was critical and set the cats back many months.  The key is to not move forward to the next step until there is no growling, yowling, hissing, posturing, ears going flat or swishing tail.  Food rewards for the cats is a must.  Try to keep interactions very brief when they start.  You want to end on a positive note and then reward the cats with an extra special treat.  Try plain cooked chicken or canned tuna or salmon.

Here are some articles and a video to help you.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/the-ultimate-yet-simplified-guide-to-introducing-cats

http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/a-simple-little-trick-to-use-during-new-cat-introductions/

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/introducing-your-cat-new-cat

http://jacksongalaxy.com/2010/10/01/cat-to-cat-introductions/