I am in the process of adopting a cat from the Cats Protection. I do have 2 other female cats and this cat, Evangeline is female. Some say that it's best to introduce a male rather than having 3 females. But up until 3/4weeks ago i had 3 female cats in my home, all getting along and no fights. Although one of my cats, Heidi has her little tortie naughty moments, but that's tortieshell cats for you lol...they tend to have attitudes.

Me and my family are experienced in looking after cats and mixing new with old and never had a problem before. We;ve never adopted more then 1 cat at a time, they were all adopted at seperate times. So i expect the first few months shall be a little challenge for us to mix Evangeline with Shelly and Heidi. But how do you guys intoduce a new cat into a home in which homes other cats?????

In the past when getting a new cat my dad puts butter on all paws so it leaves a slight scent around the house. We keep them inside for about 2weeks so they get used to the house and at night for the first week or so seperate the new from the old. After 2weeks we shall let Evangeline out but with a person present for the 1st few days and then after we shall let her come and go as she pleases. But when we let her out, again we shall put butter on her paws so her scent gets left in the garden. We've done it this way for years and never had problems and the cats eventually either get on well or tolerates each other...either way there's no serious fights. But does anyone have any other adive? I'd like to know how others do this and how they work....

To be honest what you said seems good and I cant add much to it,
but I will mention cats are like kids and do get jealous now and then so make sure you equally pour out your attention for all of them then possibly the others wont feel as threatened.

also scent is usually a big issue when introducing a new pet, you could wrap the new cat in a blanket that smells of your home when your transporting her to rub the scent off.

other than that hope it goes well

The butter thing is a myth and doesn't do anything except give the cat a nice time cleaning it off. Some people make sure not to feed the cat before you let her go the first time, so she is hungrier and comes back sooner for food. I haven't tried it myself but it makes sense.

If it were me I would confine Evangeline to one room at first with her own food bowls and litter tray, then once she is a bit settled let the others come in for short periods to get a sniff and say hello. Depending on their reactions let them in for longer or keep them away a bit, and repeat until they can be left together without fighting.

They should ideally all have different food bowls in different areas, even within the same room, which avoids a lot of behavioural issues.

Thanks for the advice guys. The cats will all have seperate food bowls, but all in the same room...kitchen. I always get scared bringng a new cat into the home cause i don't want them to run off 1st chance they get. However i always get scared over nothing cause the cats settle so nicely that they don't wanna run off.

When i adopted Shelly she stayed in the house for the first 2weeks, but after a week she somehow nugded a window open and jumped out. I chased after her everywhere but couldn't catch her. I even jumped in practically every garden she went in trying to catch her...no luck. And then i lost sight of her and that was it. This all happened around 10.30am. All day she hadn't returned and i was torturing myself...blaming myself thinking i've just lost a cat we adopted. It was only me in the house at the time. Then around 10.30pm that night we spotted her on the wall...she came back. It took about 15mins to grab her...but she came back to us after only spending a week with us.

only when you're watching the rest of the time it'll be a free for all

Your right there. Specially Shelly. She nicks ALL the left overs, even when we shout no she continues to eat. The little minx lol

This is sane and very sound advice. I agree, the butter thing is just a myth. Keeping her in a separate room is essential. Everything Mrs W says is true

After the 2 week indoor stay I tend to go out with my cats and go for a walk with them, or stay nearby as they wander about sussing out their new territory. I talk to them while they are out there. Cats find their own way back by smell: you don't need to create it for them.

I think Fig managed about a week before he first went out and I know I couldn't sleep until he came back. We did try to give him small walks at first with one of those cat harness things but he wouldn't budge if it was on (to be fair though it was bright pink and he probably didn't want any neighbour cats to see him with it on)

When you have several cats in a household, the most important thing is to make sure each one has its own space and that they can get away from one another when they need peace and quiet. The more they are in each others pocket 24/7, the more likely there'll be tension, especially if some are more boistrous than others.

Good luck with your new arrival.

Thanks all. Our new friend will be coming to her new home tomorrow.