Two Old Cats, One New - Help!

My husband and I rescued a cat who showed up outside our apartment building. We intended to give her to someone, but my husband has fallen completely in love with her and wants to keep her.

My two resident cats - both boys - are the best of friends. However, they seem to ignore her. She is about 12 weeks. I kept her in a separate room for about a week, and they've been out in the house together for about four days. She really wants to play with them, but they're pretty cautious. Right now, they will sniff each other's noses and there is a little bit of hissing, but it's pretty much stopped. However, she likes to try and bite their tails and chase them, and they like to bat at her.

Is this normal? Our apartment is only about 950 sq.ft., which is really small for three cats! I don't want the relationship between my other two cats to change - they've been alone now for about 1 1/2 years. However, I won't take her to the pound, which is where she was headed - she's too sweet.

I've read everything that I could get my hands on, e.g., books, internet articles, but I don't know what to do. My first and second cat became best friends almost immediately, i.e., within about three days, and that isn't happening here.

Any suggestions?

Sounds like it is going pretty good to me! She is a kitten and wants to play - and they want to make sure that she knows she is at the bottom of the pack.

The weird thing, though, is that my two resident cats don't seem as close. One is a lot quieter than usual, and just sits and watches the new cat.

It'll pass. I have six kitties, and whenever a new one arrives it is invariable what happens. One of the current kitties will immediately adopt the new one, the other ones will either hiss or hide and act aloof. Over the next month or so, the hissers become friends with the newcomers, the aloof ones graduate to batting and hissing, and by a couple months, everyone is friends and fine again with each other. Let them adjust at their own speed. It's not going to damage the relationship between your two current cats. Chances are, in a few weeks, you'll find all three of them sleeping in a big warm fuzzy cuddle-pile. Good luck!

Thank you so much to both you and Talon for your advice. I really appreciate it. I'm in the middle of studying for my Bar Exam, so this extra stress hasn't really been helpful!