I want to give some context first but I’m looking for some advice on how to make moving a new cat into my home as seamless as it can be.
I work in caregiving and one of my residents is having to move out and is unable to take his cat with him. He has expressed that I am only one that he trusts to take her, so I consider it somewhat of a “dying wish” as he’s getting older and weaker. I also love his cat to pieces, so it’s really no bother to have her join my family.
I live in a townhouse with 4 other roommates, all women and it’s a very quiet and calm home environment. There’s no loud noises or craziness which makes it’s very cat friendly. I only have access to one designated bedroom (with connected bathroom), with everything else either being shared living spaces or other people’s rooms.
My current cat is a 6 year old spayed female cat. I’ve had her since she was a kitten, so I know her entire backstory. She currently is the only cat in the household, but that has only been for 8 months. Otherwise, she’s spent her whole life living with other cats. She gets along with most cats but did have issues with my ex roommates cat. It seems to me that she gets along better with male cats, but doesn’t have issues with female cats so long that she isn’t bullied by them.
The new cat is roughly 8 years old and a spayed female. I don’t know too much about her back story, but she has lived as an only cat with her old owner for the past couple of years. He said that she was feral and had taken her off the streets so I assume she has interacted with other cats at some point in time. She is as sweet as can be and loves people. Shes used to people coming in and out of her room and interacting with her. She’s very curious and has never been one to hide. Her owner did live in a studio apartment assisted living facility so she more or less has been confined to a room for the past couple of years. I have known her for 2 years now so I’m very familiar with her and have a close bond.
Now that I’m taking her in (somewhat last minute due to circumstances) I’m trying to plan on how to make this as easy as possible for both cats. I know they need to be separated for awhile before introducing them, so I need to think of how to achieve that. I have a larger bedroom with a bathroom attached that has my current cats litter box. One possibility I’ve thought of is to set up my new cat in the bathroom that way she can be separated from my resident cat at least for the first few days. The only thing that makes me wary is that there’s no windows in my bathroom, so I don’t want her to get bored when I have to go to work. Otherwise I am often home so I could keep her company. Similarly I have a walk in closet that could serve this purpose, but once again no windows. I don’t want to have to ask my roommate to keep her in her room since that’s somewhat of an unreasonable ask.
Mainly I’m just looking for ideas of how to achieve this and make it as easy as it can be for both girls. It’s important to me that this new cat stays in my life even if it’s somewhat of an inconvenience for me at first. Worst comes to worst my brother has offered to take care of her until I move into my new place in 2 months. I’ll include a picture of the cuties just for fun! Thanks for any advice :)