I posted a question the other day which some of you may have seen :
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1583991

So the new cat has come home today, she's estimated to be about 17 years old & has multiple health problems, she was found living next to a railway line in a terrible state, so not had a great life. She's put on weight however since then, and has most recently been living in a foster house with about 15 other cats..

So she was introduced to my two girls (who are 2 & a half and mainly house cats, so not had any other interactions pretty much with other cats in their lives) & she was pretty much fine with them, however one of mine hid behind the sofa and refused to come out while the other one sat on the stairs hissing and growling... So all in all that didn't go *too* badly..
They have now been seperated & the new cat is shut in my housemates bedroom where she has food / litter tray.

But i am worried about this new cat for a few reasons...

Firstly she lashed out at me, which actually has made me not want to stroke her again! Basically she was fine with me stroking her to begin with and all was fine, she then moved & sat down on our sofa so i was stroking her head & suddenly she hissed & went to scratch / bite me but luckily just caught my coat.
Now i know she has just moved into a new home & may be unsure of her surroundings but my housemate told me that you have to be careful when you stroke her as she has some matted fur to her front that hasn't been able to be seen to as she bites anyone who goes near it...

This ^ worries me as i am due to give birth in around 10 weeks & i don't particularly want a cat who is prone to lashing out like this around my newborn baby - i know you never leave cats & babies alone together but i just wouldn't trust this cat anywhere near a baby. Where as my two girls have NEVER EVER lashed out at me the whole time i've had them so i'm not worried in the slightest about them around the baby as they have been round my friends children & there have been no problems whatsoever.

Any opinions / advice?
I've spoken to my housemate & she thinks it was "misplaced aggression" but still un-nerves me quite bit. And i've been told if it really doesn't work she can be rehomed so i guess thats a plus.

10 weeks before a new baby doesn't strike me as the best of times to rehome a cat - it can easily take quite some time for an adult to settle in.

She might have a bit that hurts, or she might simply do the cat thing that some have of lashing out after too much stroking. She probably knows just how hard to bit / scratch as well - my old cat does - so no real damage is done. The one time my old cat bit me badly (had to go to the GP) the vet touched his bad tooth, and he bit the nearest thing - my hand. BTW he's too frail to survive having the tooth removed.

The bottom line, however, is you can't leave any cat or dog (or small furry animal with teeth) alone with a baby or toddler. She will recognise the baby is a baby, so long as you are vigilant it should be fine. Hopefully your own cats will come round to some sort of acceptance by the time the baby is born.

You and your house-mate get another cat when you are almost due a baby? Not even a kitten but a cat with problems .. but its OK as you can send it back if need be?
Why have you separated the cats, why is the new one shut in the bedroom, if it didn't go to badly why is one shut away?

What rescue place sent the cat out for re-homing with matted fur that cant be seen to? Matted fur gets worse not better without attention and if the cat wont let anyone touch it then it should have been sedated and seen to.. I have seen cats skin torn off when they have caught the matted fur on something.

Many cats lash out when you stroke them to much, its up to you to learn the signs but as the other poster said normally it looks aggressive but isn't really .

I think that's a bit harsh !!!

By the sounds of it the OP's flatmate bought home cat because of the state it was in (the OP's flatmate volunteers at RSPCA)

Missjef, I do think it maybe an idea to look at rehoming the cat now. It will save undo stress for everyone... The longer the cat stays the more stressful for you, bub and your two girls.

You simply cannot have a cat in your home if you are worriwd about your baby and also you do have to think of the welfare of you two kittys.

The reason we never got cat #2 is because Amber doesn't get on well with other cats and it wouldn't be fair on her!

I'd just like to point out this is my housemates cat & her decision to rehome it , so I said I was fine with it but it will
Need to be on a trial period to see how my cats are with it .
There is no way I would personally be rehoming a cat with so many problems when I am due to give birth however it is her choice & it will be her responsibility to look after it .
She volunteers for the RSPCA so was aware this cat needed a long term foster home & offered to take it in.
The matted fur is still there as I presume no one has been able to take it off due to her being aggressive when anyone goes near it.

It didn't go too badly , however one of mine his behind the sofa for over an hour & the other wouldn't stop growling, so we separated them .
My cats are in the routine of sleeping in the downstairs area with the door shut ready for when the baby arrives therefore my housemate is going to have her cat sleep in her room.
We are keeping them separate when we are not in the house as my two aren't used to being round other cats I dont know how they ll react . I don't see a problem with that.
This new cat is old & quite fragile so it s better for her to have a room to be safe on her own & stay near her food / litter as she is not very good with the staircase .

Hope that clears some things up.

I spoke to my housemate last night & she has already told the fosterer who had this cat previously that this is a trial run to see how she behaves with my 2 cats etc.
Im sure it will be fine as to be honest I don't think she has very long to live so just needs a nice home to live out her final months .
I just don't want my 2 who are house cats getting upset about having a new cat about the house .

Plus I'm worried my two are going to have the stress of dealing with this new cat & then there baby so soon, it might really upset them.

The matted fur can be dealt with, they just have to sedate them. We used to have a cat that had no teeth and arthritis so his fur always matted. The vet would sedate him and then shave the matted fur.

Also they are never going to tolerate each other if you keep them a part. You need to introduce them to each other gradually and then most cats will put up with other cats after a while. As for the biting, hissing, sracthing cats do that to tell you to f-off when they have had enough basically. mine does that to me all the time if I step over the line.

On a personal note I do think it is wrong to bring a cat back on a trial basis, maybe you should have told you flatmate no in the first place if you were that worried about it and not get her's or the cats hopes up. Because now she will have bonded with her cat and the cat with her but that is just my personal opinion.

Sorry I don't think its harsh at all. Im actually surprised the house mate was allowed to bring the cat home with a unsure situation like this.

So really you are saying you don't want it there? Did you not think of this before

Firstly well done on adopting a cat that's older. Most cats who are like 10yrs+ are over-looked and it's sad. Older ctas are easier to look after as they have been trained and so forth. But this cat like you said didn't seem to have much of a good life and this could be the reason as to why she's lashing out. This cat may have attitude problems, but then again it could be the matted fur someone suggested. Your pregnant so i wouldn't be touching that part of the cat atm, go to the vets...they can have a throrough check.

It wasnt my idea , or something I personally wanted , however my housemate was desperate for a pet of her own & asked if I would be okay with her fostering an elderly cat who needed a new home , I said I didn't mind however It would all depend on how my two cats reacted , & that it would have to be on a trial basis to see how thing s go with them which she understood & agreed & told the fosterers who had the cat that she will rehome it permanently dependant on how my two cats respond .
I wouldn't personally get another cat for the reasons that I already have my two & a baby on the way , however it is extremely hard to say no to someone who wants to rehome an elderly cat who has multiple health problems.

My two cats are my priority & if they are upset or whatever by the new cat then she will have to go back to her previous foster home , or if she seems to aggressive to be round a baby .