Help with Introducing Cats (kinda messed up)?

[Chaz]

I have Mouse (had her a year) she is about 16 months old. for the last 6 months she has always been allowed outdoors and indoors when ever she wants as I have a Kitty door. Mouse is Spayed.


I now have Cassie, who is 12 months old, though she had kittens about 5-7 weeks ago I cant be exact as she was found her kittens have been homed and she has been given to me. I got her Yesterday.

I decided to go with the method of putting both cats together and letting them get on with it.
Mouse has hissed at cassie (and then mouse runs away) Cassie has now begun to hiss back. No swiping from either cat yet. We have noticed that Cassie Hiss's and growls more when food is around. She will also charge at mouse if mouse is near food.

We have closed the Kitty Door stopping either cat getting out side. Mouse spends most her time upstairs (which is normal to a point (usually she will come downstairs and be sociable during the day)) Mouse has ventured downstairs but when she sees Cassie she hiss's and runs back upstairs. I can not tell if Mouse has eaten anything either.

Last night both cats laid in the living room quite nicely too. But today they seem more distanced.
What am I best to do at this point?
How can I encourage to Mouse that Cassie is a friend?
What do I do bout feeding? Mouse has no routine she has biscuits out 24-7 and wet food twice a day but she never eats right away, she nibbles mainly.

Any advice would be great. i cant shut them in separate rooms either, I have no doors around my house at the moment.

Cassie will be spayed in the next two weeks too.

Should I put a Litter box and some food upstairs for the time being and over time slowly move it all back downstairs? Just so I know Mouse eats?

 

[Whortleberry]

It may take some patience on your part, but it can be done. Take a look at DearTabbyTheAnswerCat.com. They have an excellent article in "Cat Care" on "How to Introduce the New Kitten/Cat to Your Cat." Helpful!

 

[Littlerock W]

Cats tend to take their grand old time getting used to other house occupants, especially other cats. What you have described here is perfectly normal cat action. They will probably still fight and distrust each other for a few months, but will gradually learn to live with each other, and maybe even make good friends. It's a good idea to have the two litter boxes and food pans for now, but it really is not necessary. Leave them to mingle on their own time. Make sure to keep both cat's nails clipped, and if you hear them fighting excessively, break it up.

They do need to fight a little though, to set dominance and pecking order. Otherwise, both cats will be thoroughly edgy for a long time.If they really get at it, put them in separate pet crates for an hour to cool off, then let them out to roam the house as usual.

 

[irongrama]

It wouldn't hurt to put food and litter upstairs, allowing Mouse to withdraw and still be able to eat and use the box. I really wouldn't worry though, this is kind of normal. Cats truly tend to prefer to be alone and a new cat in the house is a threat to them. Give them time and they probably will be fine, they might never be friends but they generally will coexist.