"Robotech_Master" wrote in message
g...


My aunt, a cat-fancier herself, has advised taking it to a no-kill
shelter, and certainly I would do this if there wasn't any other
option. She says that old cats and young cats do not tend to get
along very well at all. But it's such an adorable cat...

I was wondering if there was any way to keep my current cat and this
cat from going at it if I did want to keep the younger one?


--
Chris Meadows aka
| Homepage: http://www.eyrie.org/~robotech

Chris,

Yes, an older cat and a younger cat can learn to get along. It would take
time and patience, especially when your resident cat already shows
displeasure with other cats. My cat, Holly (8 years old at the time) had
always been aggressive and extremely agitated by other cats. When I adopted
Duffy (blind, approximately 3-5 years old), I took great care to make the
introductions very slow and gradual. In my opinion, the biggest mistake
that many people make in circumstances like this is to try to move took
quickly. Send email to me if you would like for me to send you a copy of
the description I wrote after bringing my two cats together. We used to
call Holly "the black tornado," but now the two are good friends.

You said that your apartment is smallish. Is there any way that you could
keep the two cats in separate rooms during the introduction process? If so,
it can be done. A person can almost always find a way to add a second
litter box, so that should not present a great problem.

Please try! It would be wonderful if you can give this little cat a home,
and your current cat may find that she really likes having a companion
(especially since you are gone for a number of hours each day). That is
what happened with Holly. Be sure to get the new cat spayed or neutered
*immediately* if that has not already been done -- both for the "obvious"
reason and also to cut down on behavioral problems.

MaryL
(take out the litter to reply)

Photos of Duffy and Holly: 'o'
http://tinyurl.com/8y54 (Introducing Duffy to Holly)
http://tinyurl.com/8y56 (Duffy and Holly "settle in")