Adoption of new young cat into home with 13 years old cat.

[golondrina]

My she cat Cucumella is 13 years old and has been living with me for the past 5 years. She is very affectionate and has never shown any signs of aggressivity but she hasn't had any contact with any other cat or any other animal during this 5 year period. She is very dependent on my  presence to the point of crying when I go out and is always lying down behind the front door when I come back.  My question is: would a 13 years old  female cat welcome  the arrival of a young female cat and be willing to share the sanitary box? Would  it help her  to overcome her loneliness when I am absent or would she resent the new arrival and become aggressive?  Cucumella is the only cat I have ever dealt with. Can someone advise me? Many thanks.

 

[Primula]

Hard to say as to whether it will be successful or not as it depends on the cats themselves. First, they would each need a litter box + a spare one. Is your older cat fixed?

 

[golondrina]

Thank you Primula Why a spare litter box besides a litter box each? Yes, Cucumella has been operated on if that is what you mean by "fixed". 

 

[golondrina]

I'm not replying but adding to my previous post.  I made an essai today to introduce the  two cats, i.e. my Cucumella an Cucudos the young female cat I would like to adopt but it has been a complete failure. The moment Cucumella saw the young cat she started making angry guttural noises and moving her tail from side to side and almost immediately run after the young one who run off in panic into a bedroom and under a double bed .Fortunately  I was able to stop Cucumella before she could reach the young cat so no damage was caused but quite frankly I am very discouraged as I don't feel capable of dealing with the situation which scares me. . Cucumella is an adult big cat and Cucudos is only a small very thin kitten.  Have I dealt with the situation badly? Can anybody make any suggestions? Many thanks for any help. 

 

[Primula]

Thank you Primula Why a spare litter box besides a litter box each? Yes, Cucumella has been operated on if that is what you mean by "fixed". 

To give the cats options. Some cats like their own box; some cats like separate boxes for poop & pee; some cats don't like a box near their food.

 

[Primula]

I'm not replying but adding to my previous post.  I made an essai today to introduce the  two cats, i.e. my Cucumella an Cucudos the young female cat I would like to adopt but it has been a complete failure. The moment Cucumella saw the young cat she started making angry guttural noises and moving her tail from side to side and almost immediately run after the young one who run off in panic into a bedroom and under a double bed .Fortunately  I was able to stop Cucumella before she could reach the young cat so no damage was caused but quite frankly I am very discouraged as I don't feel capable of dealing with the situation which scares me. . Cucumella is an adult big cat and Cucudos is only a small very thin kitten.  Have I dealt with the situation badly? Can anybody make any suggestions? Many thanks for any help. 

There are loads of links for this much-discussed topic. Hopefully you can find them here on the site or a nice person will come along & help you with that.

 

[brokenheart]

How young is the young cat? I brought a rescued 3 year old into a home with two 16 year olds (one has since died) and the older guys, even the one who was super accepting of a kitten I fostered for a week), were not happy. I introduced them slowly but she just went after them all the time, probably to play but they hated it. For a very long time I would leave her in the bedroom when I went out so she wouldn't bother them. She and the cat who died were slowly starting to show signs of liking each other (he even tried to give her a bath once) but he died before they could really be friends.

Now I feel bad for the two who are left - the young one needs a playmate and the old guy needs a companion - but I can't take on any more cats.

Decades ago, I cat-sat for a friend who had an older cat and a kitten. The older cat was miserable. While I was there, I let her have a room to herself so she could sleep because she just looked exhausted. (You know how wonderfully crazy kittens are.) It was as if she had post-partum depression. So if you do take on the younger one, I'd recommend only doing so if your home has enough room so that they can be separated when necessary.

 

[brokenheart]

Also, I've heard that neutered males are more accepting of another cat than females are. My household grew from the intended one cat to two because I was always at work and then to three because the third guy was stressing out at a shelter I volunteered for so I took him home to "foster" (which ended up lasting 12 years). The boys all accepted each other within a week and were ultimately great friends. Sadly, two of the boys died over time and I'm back to two. The female I have now has generally been a pain in the a----s, if you ask the remaining male. I love her, but the remaining cat just tolerates her and she hisses at him. They never socialize.

 

[belochka]

Sorry - I am in a rush right now, so will be brief and hopefully someone else will elaborate and add.

Cats should not be introduced like that - just putting them together.
Generally the procedure for introducing cats is very specific and gradual.
First, the new cat is usually kept in a separate room. They need to get used to the idea of other cat's presence. Then you feed them on the opposite sides of a closed door for them to continue getting used to each other. You could also swap smells (things that belong to each cat) and so on and so forth.
If they seem to be ok behind doors/gates seeing each other without open aggression or dislike, you can start letting them in the same room but always supervised.
This is a general outline.

Depending on the cats' personalities it may take from a few weeks to a few months to even a year for both cats to become comfy with each other.

And you also need to be prepared for the fact that they may never become buddies. They may learn to tolerate each other but never cuddle.
But it's hard to predict

So this is a general idea.
I've gotta go. But I hope some of the forum experts will provide more detail.
You can also search the forum on cat introductions - there are tons of threads about this with great suggestions and experiences.

Good luck!!!

 

[thunder12346cat]

 

[golondrina]

Many thanks to you all Primula, Brokenheart and Belochka for your helpful replies which have enlightened me regarding cats behaviour. I realize now how inappropriate was my way of introducing them.Quite frankly Cucumella's very aggressive reaction has discouraged me but fortunately   my daughter has informed me that she has been able to place Cucudos with a kind lady she knows and who is very happy to adopt her. Many thanks again.

 

[golondrina]

Before closing this story about the way young Cucudos run for her life when Cucumella went after her I must express my surprise to hear that she, Cucudos, has chased quite aggressively a big cat that  entered my daughter's garden and wanted to eat her food.  The trespassing big fellow run up a tree for safety while the little one went after him. I suppose it is a question of territorial rights that gave the little one the courage to hold her own against an adult corpulent adversaire?  My little great grand children were greatly amused.