Introducing an older female cat to 2 older male cats

Question
My husband and I have 2 13yr old male neutered cats. They are brothers, from the same litter. My Mother in Law recently passed away and she has a spayed female old cat probably 12yrs old or so. My husband was thinking of adopting her, but our guys are pretty territorial, and they have all their claws and she only has her back claws and I don't want the poor thing to be injured or traumatized. Is there a safe way to possibly incorporate her into our family safely?

Answer
LeAnn

Introducing a cat to cats approx the same age makes the transition smoother. The 12 year old is approx. 64 years old in human years and the 13 year olds are apprx. 68 years old. The key is to go slowly and not rush the process.

Your mother in law's cat will probably be grieving and will suffer separation anxiety from losing her home and her owner. Older cats do not take stress and change as well as a younger cat.

I would keep her separated from your cats for a while until she adjusts to you and her new home. Introductions to new cats may be too much right now. If she shows signs of severe depression or starts pulling out her fur I would ask the vet about putting her on 'kitty prozac' for a short term to keep her calm. You need to give her lots of love and attention to reassure her. Do not leave any doors open for awhile because she may try to 'go home'. Putting a collar on her with your address and phone number would be playing it safe in case it happened and she got lost.

Hissing, spitting, and slaps are normal kitty communication. You only need to worry if there are ears pinned back flat, blood being shed, or major fur flying. Also keep your cats claws trimmed so there aren't any deadly points.

I am including some good links to articles that will help you with the introduction process. Copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar:

Here is a good article about cats grieving:
http://www.messybeast.com/cat-grief.htm

Introducing cats to older cats:

http://www.messybeast.com/Oldcat.htm#addition
http://www.understandinganimals.com/article/7
http://www.messybeast.com/first-impressions.htm

I hope this helps. Take it slow and everything will be fine. Write back if you have more questions.

Tabbi