Help!! we are moving in together and im worried how our cats will react!

Question
Hi Kate

I have an 8yr old male neutered cat (looks a little burmese, but def not pedigree) who likes to go out and investigate things outside but he never goes far.  He does have the occasional fight but nothing i would say is extreme and i'm not sure if the cat has entered his domain (so to speak...) or not, as i always seem to arrive when the howling serenade is in full flow....usually pitch darkness also which doesn't help as Maxi is pure black.
Problem is because i know he tends to come across to me as territorial, would it be difficult to integrate him into a household with another cat?
Reason i ask is my partner has asked me to move in with him.  He has a female, Willow, of approximate age as Maxi, also spade, but she never goes out and has not had experience of ever living with another cat, and i would so love them to be friends, but i'm scared Maxi would attck her, and as she has no point of reference, would she be ok?
I was kind of hoping that his temper/fighting would only be aimed at males? but i honestly don't know.
Please can you recommend some help or tips where we can get them to be best of friends? I'm desperate with worry, as i couldn't live without my puddy. he's been my life since he was abandoned on the doorstep. :(

Answer
HI
well the likelihood is that yes they will fights, that's what cats do, they are all very territorial even if that is only in a few rooms of a house.

However you may be able to get them to at least call a sort of truce with each other living together but keeping there distance etc. Its all about helping them to get used to the new smells of the other cat and to build confidence in each other without the fear of attack. There is a process for this, it can take some time and does take a bit of patience to carry out but is worth it in the end. The process is described here on my web site
/introducing-cats.html

Don't worry it may take some time and may have to be repeated a few times but as long as everyone is calm and patient then hopefully you can all live together fairly happily (there may always be the occasional spat)

best wishes Kate