Boo Hiss

May 10, 2010 11:22 AM

Bringing a "cat of a certain age" into the home of a much younger cat.

In a week a very sweet, 20-year-old cat with hypothyroidism is coming to live the rest of her days with us. We already have a 4-year-old here who has never lived with another cat (except his litter-mates).

All the helpful info I've found only addresses bringing a younger cat or kitten into a house with an older one. I plan to follow the advice I've found about keeping them separate for a while, getting them used to each others' smells, using separate litter boxes and food bowls, etc. But is there anything important I should be aware of since my cat is younger than the incoming one? Will the age thing make it harder for him to accept the "intruder?" Young cat is male, older is female, BTW. Thanks for your help. I don't want to screw this up!

posted by Kloryne to Pets & Animals (4 answers total)

I don't know about your particular cat, but when we brought in an old cat we made sure to indicate she was Alpha cat. She got the best seat- Young Cat got booted off of a certain chair that only Old Cat was permitted to sit in. Old Cat got fed first, etc. The minute Young Cat hissed at Old Cat, he was locked in the bathroom, etc.

With these particular cats it worked out and I think Old Cat would have been beaten up daily otherwise.
posted by small_ruminant at 11:44 AM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

I had a youngster and an oldster in the same household and though the youngster was used to living with other cats his age and play fighting and romping around with them, he seemed to just innately understand that old girl was not gonna have it and was mostly respectful of her. We introduced them slowly but for the most part neither of them wanted anything to do with each other, they just kind of sniff faces and go about their day. She has her own food area and general reign of the back porch, while he (and another cat his age who was already established & also indifferent to old girl) take the front porch and yards. So space may be your main issue.
posted by Juicy Avenger at 12:55 PM on May 10, 2010

Best answer: My dad's 18 year old cat came to stay for a month with me and my two rambunctious, much younger boy cats. Mamakitty was a tiny thing with a tiny voice, but she quietly demonstrated her alpha cat-ness by finding all their favorite personal sleeping spots and overtly sleeping in them. I'll never forget walking in on Spider finding Mamakitty sleeping in his castle. Tail twitching, he stared at her from the floor while she looked down at him and made a silent mew. He just stood there, looking non-plussed, and then wandered off to take his frustrations out on Willow (who was a terrible brat and a match for Spider, so that was okay). They were never any physical altercations between my cats and Mamakitty- it just seemed to be clear that she was much, much older and wasn't to be messed with.

I didn't do anything special other than keep an eye on things the first week. I sort of operate with the expectation that animals will figure out their own ways to get along, and that has always worked in our household. Cats are all different though- I think the main thing is not to be nervous around them with the first introductions and not to suddenly treat your cat any differently than usual.
posted by oneirodynia at 1:31 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: So far so good, I guess. Today was the introduction. My younger cat was all into the new old lady kitty until she tried to smack him one across the face. Now's she's hanging out in the bedroom with food, water, litter, and her favorite pillows while the youngster skulks around the house, sniffing at the bedroom door. I'll keep them separated for a while.
posted by Kloryne at 3:00 PM on May 15, 2010