multi cats

Question
We have a cat that has been with us for nine years and is nine years old.  Recently we took in two cats, they are sisters and are one year old, they are tortes, and were found by my daughter who had them fixed and examined by a vet and all shots were done.  She could not keep them because she has four cats and a dog.  We believe that they were left behind by a family because they are both very affectionate and house broken. I took them in but one of the tortes is having a bad time with my cat hissing and at times and attacking, but not to the point were either one is hurt. I have only had the pair for a week, is there any thing i can do to stop the fighting??

Answer
Richard,

Congratulations on your new friends. Two of my three resident cats are torties, they have more personality than many people do in my experience and they can be a handful so I hope you'll have fun getting to know these girls and I wish you luck in your quest to entertain them. Although there isn't any scientific proof of this most of the torties and calicos that I've seen are quite bright and have very distinct personalities, one of the features I have seen over the years is that where one or more torties lives they both want to be queen of the castle. All in all I'm sure that you'll enjoy the antics of these beautiful cats - just be sure to entertain them or they'll find ways to entertain themselves that you may not necessarily approve of.

Improperly introducing the new girls is probably what's causing the aggression between them and your resident cats. Since questions about proper new cat/kitten introductions are quite common I'll give you some basic information, if you would like further details on this subject, please feel free to check out my previous answers on new cat/kitten introductions. It's generally wise to isolate new cats coming into a home with resident cats in a room behind a closed door with all of the usual kitty amenities for a period of 2-3 weeks. There are a few reasons for this recommendation. The most obvious is that cats are quite territorial and will tend to display aggression in varying degrees to any new cat coming into their territory. Isolating the new cats will allow your resident cat(s) to become accustomed to the new arrivals in his/her own time. You can help this process along by feeding the cats on opposite sides of the closed door which will allow all of the kitties in question to associate something positive (food) with a change in their territory. It's very important to play with and give affection to the resident cat as well as the new torties, after all, isolation doesn't mean that their need for love changes. Another positive point to isolating the new cats is that you will gradually become familiar with these girls and the isolation period allows you to find out what is normal for these cats in regards to energy levels, toilet habits, appetite, personality quirks and more. Another very important reason to isolate all new cats coming into your home for 2-3 weeks is that some viral and bacterial infections may not be readily apparent, the isolation period doubles as a precautionary quarantine period to prevent the spread of infections. Since I am assuming that you haven't gotten a whole lot of history on these precious girls I'd hazard a guess that you don't know who or what they may have come into contact with prior to being found and cared for by your daughter. It's a good idea to watch for signs of illness in these cats throughout their isolation period as well as being sure to test for feline leukemia and FIV which are serious chronic viral infections similar to HIV/AIDS in humans (don't worry though, they can't pass these infections on to people). In order to help calm your resident cat (who is probably quite upset by now) you can try out a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy which is a safe blend of flower essences designed to calm and reassure. I don't recommend that you administer this remedy directly by mouth as the  flower essences are preserved in a grape alcohol solution and most cats aren't typically fond of the taste or smell of alcohol which is why it's best to add it to the water except in cases of emergency. Rescue Remedy is used by some vets and pet parents worldwide as a safe non-pharmaceutical way to treat anxiety, fear, trauma and other similar emotions, it won't hurt pets or children. I would recommend that you try a dose of about 5-7 drops in each fresh bowl of water every morning, you may also want to add the same dose of Rescue Remedy to the torties' water so that everyone is peaceful and happy. You can generally find Rescue Remedy in health food stores, naturopathic pharmacies, in some mainstream pharmacies and I believe it can also be purchased online. Enjoy your new additions and good luck with the balancing act, it sounds as though you and your daughter are true animal lovers at heart!