Adding an older cat to a home w/ dogs?

[lv4dogs]

I may be adding a newbie to my household if she gets along with my ruppers. Here she is:
http://www.hswaynepets.org/pets/adoptapet/maymay_c.htm

If all goes well I will be fostering her in a week or 2 for one week to see how she does with my other animals. Mainly the dogs & ferrets.

Here is what I was planning to do:
Day 1: Shutting her off in my spare bedroom (I think it will be that room, see below for more info. on that room) for the day to let everyone get used to their scents.

Day 2: let all of my animals out of the house and let her free roam the house for a few hours. Then shut her back in the room & let my animals back in again to get them accustomed to each others scents.

Day 3: Let the cat meet with my cat for a few hours while the dogs are outside. While she is meeting my cat, she will have access to the whole house, which means she will meet my ferrets through their cage.

Day 4: If all goes well with May May meeting Meko I will introduce the cat to one dog at a time (I only have 2 dogs) while the other dog is outside.

Day 5: If all goes well with the introduction to each dog, I will let her meet both dogs at the same time.

Day 6: If all goes well she will have access to the whole house.


BUT here is my dilema, Meko, my current cat has her litter box in that room & always has. I am not sure if she would rebel if I were to move her box, I have never moved her box, never. Meko is an easy going cat, she's more dog like than anything but I don't want to take any chances.
I was going to use my bedroom to shut May May (the new cat) in but Meko & my dogs all sleep with me everynight & I don't want to disrupt their schedule either.

Should I use a large dog crate to keep her in or something?

Does anyone have any suggestions or stories about their experiences?

[catnapper]

Congrats on the new kitty! When I introduced the kittens, I kept them in a cage in the middle of the dining room. Both Allen and Pouncer came and sniffed them for a bit. After they got their initial hisses out of the way, I took them out of the cage and let them play on the floor. Allen and Pouncer ran to the edges of the room and watched them like hawks. Slowly they approached the kittens. You need to be there every second. If they start swatting, just make sure claws are retracted. Watch body language. The first face to face encounter is really short. Then I put them bakc in the cage, repeat a few hours later. Within a few days everyone was used to each other. I'm not saying everyone loved each other, but there wasn't anymore tense moments where the cats look like they were about to attack. A few weeks alter and they were happily grooming each other. Be prepared for a good amount of hissing and growling. Thats normal. If you could let her sleep on a blanket, then leave that blanket out for the other animals to smell, then thats a good way to intorduce her scent to the others before they even see her.

Has she ever met dogs before? The first MONTH or so of having Abby she and Nicki didn't meet. Not that I hid each other - Nicki is scared of cats (I know, she's a wimp! :D) and Abby was TERRIFIED of Nicki. They stayed clear of each other. Eventually they realized the other wasn't so bad. If your dogs are calm and will leave her investigate the house without trying to chase her, then its logical to introduce the dogs at the same time.

One thing though, when you have multiple cats, it is recommended to have one litter box per cat plus one. So now you'll have two cats... that would be a suggested 3 litterboxes. You can have just two boxes if scoop daily, etc. But you might want to consider a third anyway. Its up to you to put them side by side in one room or in two different locations in the house. I have one in the bathroom, one in the bedroom, one in a closet, etc. You'd be amazed where you can stash a litterbox! :D

[ramanth]

Oh Goodness!!! She looks like Eli! :eek:

Sounds like you have everything figured out. :) I hope it works out! :)

As for the litterbox thing. Instead of moving Meko's, what about buying a second one?

[Craftlady]

I would get another litter box.
Actually I tried the rule 1 for each cat and no one hardly used the third litter box (left it up for several months) so I did away with that one and it's been almost a year now and no problems.

[kimlovescats]

You've gotten great advice, and you have a good plan. I think with time and patience, it will work. WHAT A PRECIOUS Black and White ... of course, I LOVE her nose spot!!!:D

[catmandu]

If The Cat,is used to other animals,it might be all right,but I would take it very slow,if that is not the case!

[lv4dogs]

Thanks everyone for the replies. She is a cutie thank you! The picture is a bit blury but in person her nose has a black stripe in the middle, pink on the edges. Her body is the opposite, she has a black body w/ a white stripe in the middle of her back, almost like a skunk!

No one knows for sure if she has ever been around dogs before, the lady that dropped her off just said she doesn't get along with them. The shelter has not introduced her to dogs, but the dogs are sometimes right next to the cats (they have a lot of free roamers, the cats are all in one large room w/ sliding glass doors) so they can see the dog through the doors, and she has never showed any aggression or fear towards them.

She is 2.5 years which is what makes me worry more about having a hard time introducing them.

Oh and the litter box thing, you don't have to worry, I have ferrets, ferrets=poop. I have about 10 litter boxes all over my house. Just that Meko only uses the one, she won't use any others.