old/new cat

Question
I have a 10 (almost 11) year old female who is on the shy side.  When I adopted her I had a 7 year old female and the 7 year old really persecuted her - not allowing her to eat and use the litter box.  It took a move to a new house and 10 months time but eventually they learned to live together with a degree of tolerance but no great love!  I recently took in a 5-6 month female to foster or possibly adopt, and my older cat is very unhappy.  The young cat is very friendly and not at all aggressive - she trys to play and miaow to the older cat and all my older cat does is hiss and growl, and also drool.  The younger cat has a great appetite and has settled in as if she has been here forever whereas my older cat is not eating when she sees the younger one and also is spending most of her time in our bedroom.  The smaller one has gone into the bedroom but all the older one does is hiss and growl.  I dearly love my older cat but would like to keep the younger cat if I felt they would eventually get on together.  Should I just let them work it out or keep having separate rooms for them?  Is my older cat too old to accept a young cat?  For your info my older cat is not a "lap cat".  She is very independent and only comes to us on her terms but she is still a good cat and I think alot of her problems stem from her treatment as a kitten.

Answer
Karen,

For the moment I would like to suggest that your new cat is kept separate from the resident cat. You can try using a homeopathic remedy called Rescue Remedy which is a Bach Flower Essence. You can buy Rescue Remedy at most health food/natural health stores. I would recommend that you try 6-8 drops in a fresh bowl of water daily. You may want to look at the other flower essences made by Bach to see if there is one relating to jealousy. Do not start two homeopathic remedies at once because you will not know which one has helped if your kitty suddenly improves. Your kitty may have a really hard time with the idea of sharing someone she loves so much...She may be worried that you are trying to replace her which I know that you aren't but if she has lacked stability in her life up until coming to live with you she may really be fearful that you will make her leave just because the other kitty is more "lap cat" affectionate. I would suggest that until your kitty becomes a bit more secure the foster kitty stays in a small room with toys, litter, a bed, water, food and frequent visits from you to assure her that she hasn't been forgotten or abandoned. You may also want to use the Rescue Remedy in your foster kitty's water daily just to help keep her calm. When you decide to reintroduce the foster kitty to your resident kitty try to have a friend available to handle the foster kitty in your resident kitty' presence just to help reassure her that your heart is still hers. It can be tough to see a cat who is afraid of change of abandonment show her fears, but if the reintroduction of the foster kitty is successful over time then you will both have what you are looking for. It sounds to me like your resident kitty is afraid that if she shares you will abandon her. This process will not be an overnight success, so patience, rewards and lots of love and understanding will help everyone get through this. I hope that I was able to offer some insight and give you some ideas on how to move forward. If you happen to have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.