I’m heading out on deployment, and my parents usually keep my cat while I’m gone. This year, they bought two kittens, so my 7 year-old cat is going to have to figure out how to get along. She’s never had any other cats in the house with her, and upon first introduction, she was all growls and hissing. So here’s my question, for any cat owners who have tried this before: Do I just let the three cats go at it and duke it out, or do I introduce them bit by bit over a couple days, or is there a good way to go about this that I haven’t thought of? I don’t want the cats to kill eachother, but I also don’t want my parents to have to keep them in separate parts of the house for the next 7 months.
It’s a tough one that doesn’t always work…cats are strange creatures that way. I’ve personally had successes and failures, and it just depends on the individual cats. Part of the dynamic will be if the two kittens decide to gang up and work over the older cat, so to speak, as has been my latest experience introducing two sister kitties with 4-year old cats who are normally very easy to get along with.
It has been like oil and water as the kitties want to chase after either of the two older cats—now, both of the older cats are larger and one would think all they need do is stand their ground, tussle a little bit and be done with it. But no, they run away like…well, like scaredy-cats and it has been nearly impossible to get all 4 in the same room.
If I had to do it over again, I’d probably introduce one at a time with each of the older cats over a period of time and try it that way…
My experience is that they get used to each other pretty fast… You might keep the food dish separate though. Edit: good point though Mike on individual personality…
My parents in the UK had the same problem when they looked after my sisters cat - they used feli friend spray and it worked very well. When they got a new kitten they tried it again but that time it was not as good but still worked OK.
Our vet always uses it for our cat (in France) on her table to cloak dog or other cat scents - maybe soemthing similar exists in the US?
http://www.feliway.co.uk/
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=5
Don’t worry about it. Cats wll find their own pecking order. The older cat will establish who is the boss fairly quickly and everything will be fine.
We have five cats and a black lab. The’ve all adapted to each other and get along great.
I brought a 5 month old cat home last December and he has pretty much bossed my older cat (9) around from the get go. Like the previous poster said you think the bigger cats would give the little guys a beating, but instead he runs and hides. I did have a problem with him spraying, which was a pain in the ass. I’ve since moved so both are in a new environment and they seem to get a long pretty well.
They should start getting used to each other just as you get back from deployment. 
You’re single AND have a cat? SHOCKER.
I hope your cats name is Mittens or “Fun times” or something awesome.
Chicks dig guys with cats. Makes them think the guy’s got a nice soft and sensitive side.
We haven’t had too many problems introducing our cats to new cats. One thing to remember is to make sure that in the first couple of days that the cats do get time away from each other in a space safe from other feline invaders.
Well, I set up my cat (7 years old) in one room, and the kittens are set up in a different room. We tried getting them together, first with both of them in their carriers, then with me holding onto the older cat, and there was a good amount of hissing and growling, mostly from the older cat. The kittens just seem like they’re trying to figure out why there’s another cat that’s so pissed off. Anyway, I had to get back home and leave my parents with the hassle of making it work, but I suspect they will be fine after a week or so. Funny enough, the older cat ran like hell and hid under the bed when I let her go, instead of going after the kittens. I think it’ll take a few days, and the older cat is still probably pretty pissed that she had to spend the day on a plane anyways. Hopefully, when I get back off deployment in 7 months, there will still be three cats.
Cats abhor change, and in any number of regards you think they’re the stupidest animal on the face of the earth, e.g., a much larger and older cat running and hiding from a little teeny kitty…but it’s “different”, so they scram.
Been there, done that, and hopefully it gets better for you. As I posted above, sometimes it does and others…not so much.