Introducing 2 cats to 2 others territory

Question
Hi, I have 2 cats, a make and a female, who have known and loved each other for years.  I moved into my fiance's place 2 weeks ago and he has 2 cats, both females, which do not really get along with each other.  The past 2 weeks have been heartbreaking for me.  I have set up the extra bedroom as my cats' room, with their litter box, food, and water.  They, for the most part do not leave this room.  They pretty much only come out from under the bed if I am feeding them.  My female cat will venture into our bedroom when I go to bed and sit with me until 1 of his cats will run her off into the 2nd bedroom.  My cats will not come out to the living room.  Last night we locked his cats into our bedroom so that my cats could roam the rest of the house but my female still wouldn't come out from under the bed and my male cat had to be carried out to the living room.  Once there, he smelled everything but looked so scared that I just felt so bad for him.  When any of the cats see the others they just hiss and growl and a few times they have chaced each other.  There haven't been any drop down knock out fights.  I don't know what else to do.  I want all of the cats to like each other and feel comfortable in our home but I am starting to think that it will never happen.  Can you give me some advise on what I am doing wrong or some other things to try?

Thanks,

Erin

Answer
Hi
its all about making the cats feel confident in their new home and with the new cats. the way to do this is to introduce them to each other slowly and in a secure fashion. the process can seem a little long winded but it is worth it in the end.

the process is described here on my web page

/introducing-cats.html

Don't worry these things can take some time.

best wishes kate