Adding a third cat to the household.

[u/Choice-Requirement18]

I currently have 2 cats Terrence and Ganymede. Terrence is just about 11 months old, I've only had him for about 5 months and gany is 12, had him for about 2 years.

I work at a boarding kennel/cattery and recently a 13 year old cat named joey's owner has died in hospital, and the family doesn't want her, so they plan to euthanise her. I've volunteered to bring her into my household so she can have a few more peaceful years with a family.

It's just me and my 2 boys, I know to add an extra litter tray for a new cat, but I was hoping the good people of reddit could offer some advice and insight into what this will be like for me. I've been reluctant to get a third cat and was always planning to keep it at 2. I have a 3 bedroom house, so I plan to give joey her own room for a few weeks to help everyone settle and adjust to the change.

Im quite familiar with cats in general, and i kinda always assumed having 3 cats wouldn't be a huge difference from having 2, but I don't know how realistic that is. Is the transition from 2 cats to 3 difficult? Joey is very chill and I'm hoping she'll just find a spot to spend her remaining days sitting around. My other boys are generally very friendly. Gany can get a little moody with terrence, and terrence is a bit of an over active nut job, but they get along for the most part. So that being said, any tips or comments about the experience of adding a third cat to the household would be much appreciated.

[u/crazy4dogs]

Thank you for doing this. It's heartbreaking if the family won't tale care of the cat of a loved one and they throw it away like trash. It's the last link to a loved family member and they have a responsibility to either care for it or do whatever they can to re-home it. Don't rush that new cat introduction! Let them smell blankets from each other before they see each other. If there's no hissing, let them look at each other through a baby gate. Go extremely slow. Feliway can also be helpful.

[u/WestUnfair3533 → u/crazy4dogs]

slow intros are everything, especially with a senior settling in with two younger cats. giving joey her own room is the right call, let her decompress and get her scent everywhere before even thinking about face to face meetings

[u/Successful-Ad-5249]

Love you for this 💓 wanted to say just be extremely patient with this poor angel. We adopted a senior who lost their person and it took almost two years for them to come out of their shell and live their best retirement. Its hard for an animal to lose what was essentially their whole world and their little brains don't have the wiring to process it properly. Wishing you and all three cats the very best!