My mother's doctor recently told her that she had to get rid of her cat due to her increasing lung problems.  She kept putting it off because she was concerned about bringing the cat to a shelter.  I finally had to put my foot down and tell her she had to stop looking for someone to take the cat and just accept that it had to go to the shelter.  Don't get my wrong, I love cats and was also concerned, but I was more concerned about the fact that my mother was having trouble breathing even on oxygen.

Of course, I am also a big softy, so I brought the cat home with me to give her a trial period in my home before making the final decision to bring her to a shelter.  I already have two cats and a three year old little girl in my home, so I am concerned about how a cat that had never been around other cats or kids will adjust.  My other cats are both 12 years old and my mom's cat is only 5 so they have very different energy levels.

I would really like this to work for my mom's sake and am willing to give the new cat as long as she needs to adjust, but since I have never introduced a high strung cat like my mom's before so I was wondering how long I should give her to "settle down" before I make my final decision.  I was thinking that it would take a few weeks.  I would also love any suggestions you cat introduction veterans might have.  Thanks.

Good advice Lea.  The important thing is to take the introduction slowly--if they have to be in separate rooms for a number of weeks, it's better than starting them off on the wrong foot.  The mistake people make is to be impatient and put them together too quickly.  Then there's a big dramatic fight and they immediately give up.  Good luck Michelle--it's nice of you to take your mom's cat!

to bring my son's cat carrier with the new smell into the house and let my old cats sniff the new carrier and to kep a door closed between them all for a few days. Then we switched room so they couls all smell the new smells. and then he told me to ignore a few scuffles as they learned the pecking order...it worked and took us three weeks to blend the 2 households.