age gap and socialisation.

Question
I recently moved back in with my mother. She already has an 11 year old cat that is somewhat shy and has just gotten used to coming out and being around people on her own. Unfortunately, when I moved back in, I also brought along my own two cats (2 and 3 years respectively). Unfortunately there is little to no room to gradually introduce them to each other. So as it stands, my mother's 11 year old cat is frightened once again, and slinks to any of her destinations (such as the litter box and food or even the windowsill), my 2 year old cat (male) is relatively harmless, but likes to play a lot, my 3 year old cat (female)has a major attitude problem towards the 11 year old cat, though she had this issue due to a previous owner. So I wonder if you might have any suggestions to get them used to each other so there are less scraps between them at least? I'm at a loss myself.

Thank you for your time.

Answer
HI Jessica,

It can be tough to introduce cats in a small space. There are some suggestions here that may help - just skip over the separation parts:

http://catnet.stanford.edu/articles/introducing_cats.html

Also take a cloth or towel and rub it on your female cats' cheeks, massage them to get the scent glands to release her scent onto the towel. Then rub the towel all over your mother's cat, and do the same the other way around.

You can use the Feliway spray sold at pet stores, you apply it around the house on doorways or furniture every 3-4 days, it helps reduce territorial aggression. They also sell it as a plug in but I have found the spray more effective if applied frequently in areas the cats are near.

Avoid giving them any catnip including in toys, as catnip can heighten aggression in some cats.

Also make sure your younger cats get plenty of exercise, you should play with them a minimum of 15 minutes 2x a day. You can use a feather on a strong, a laser pointer, or whatever toy gets them running and leaping around and burning off energy... they will have less energy to bother the older cat this way!

Make sure you don't allow things to escalate, if your cats attack your mom's cat, take them to your room for a "time out" - but better still, if you see them taking too much interest in your mom's cat distract them with a toy or something else to do! You might want to get a puzzle toy or a treat ball or something that will help keep your cats entertained while you are not at home or busy.

Good luck, it can take time!