Opinions? Introducing Two Bonded Cats To A Multi-cat Household

[war&wisdom]

Hi, everyone. I'm hoping for some advice. I'm going to be moving in August and will be sharing a house with a few other people. I was the first person to sign a lease other than the current resident (who has no pets), and, as some of you know, I have two tightly-bonded cats who are littermates. The other two people who have since signed the lease have cats of their own, so it's looking like there will be four cats living in this house.

Is this feasible? My cats have never met other pets, other than a rabbit in a cage, but they are friendly and curious. They're only a bit over a year old.

I will be renting the master bedroom, which is large and has an attached bath and walk-in closet, so there is some space for my cats to roam within my room.

Really, I'm wondering if I should pull out of this situation now and find a different place to live. But I may be overreacting.

Halp.

 

[krissykatz73]

I have been through this a few times over the years. Though I am no expert the results always vary. I have had very mild mannered friendly cats not get along with other friendly cats. Then that same cat will make friends with a cat that even the owner struggles to be friends with. Some times they just refuse to get along so they keep their distance. In my opinion, cats are a lot like people in that they get along until they don't for one reason or another. The humane society has a good breakdown of how to handle it more systematically: Introducing your new cat to other pets and also Jackson Galaxy: The Do's and Don'ts of Introducing Cats

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I think if it is possible, meet with the other two people who have cats and just talk through the situation. Getting to know a bit about each other, and share concerns/ideas about the cats would help you to decide whether to stay in/leave this arrangement. You will get a sense if their way of handling their cats coincides with your ideals, and if not - you would have the chance to discuss varying ways of dealing with those differences. Are their cats indoors/outdoors, are yours? Do they keep up with vaccinations, do you? How do they handle discipline issues that come up with their cats, how do you? You get the picture. If all this goes well, then you can start working with them on ways to handle introductions with the 4 cats.