Well, the new kitty's been getting very agitated being kept in one
room all the time, so I've been closing off the current cats and
letting him wander. This makes the current cats agitated.

After a few days of letting them sniff each other through partially
open/blocked doors, I decided to take the new cat out and see what
happened. I had a blanket ready (still have the scars from separating
a catfight years ago). Spent about an hour observing and refereeing -
I never let Henry get outside of blanket range. The interaction is
hopeful and confusing.

New Cat (Henry): 1+ yrs old, former stray, mixed breed DSH.
Tiger: 11 yrs old, former farm cat, mixed breed - experienced with
other cats
Louis: 2 yrs old, bengal, Tiger's the only other cat he's known

Henry approaches Tiger with tail up and plops down in front of him.
Both will nap momentarily. Tiger comes right up to Henry to sniff,
mews a bit, but with no reaction from Henry. When Henry came out, I
almost had a heart attack because Tiger immediately ran over and
'herded' him, but Henry didn't react. Also, I noticed that playing
fetch with Henry, he'd sometimes bring the toy back to Tiger.

Poor Louis. He did the majority of the hissing and howling through the
door, and is now no longer hostile, but wary. He keeps his distance.
Tiger's body language is nonchalant, Louis' is crouched, ears down.

Every time Louis moves Henry gets apprehensive. If Louis moves too
quickly, Henry starts lurching for him. Henry got too close once, they
both stopped, and Henry arched his body sideways, ears down, tail down
and seemed prepared to strike. Blanket.

I held Henry in preparation for taking him back to his "cell", and
Louis became a bit emboldened. Not growling, not aggressive, he
gingerly padded up to Henry and they went nose to nose. I slowly stood
up and Henry whacked out, both screamed, Tiger ran up in defense,
blanket came over Henry. No injuries to report.

This is really frustrating, since Henry and Louis have similar
temperaments and one would think would make good playmates some day.
But maybe Louis just smells too "wild", or Henry remembers his
agressiveness from before.

Anyway, back to square one. Separate for a few more days, alternate
different rooms, then crack the door and let them sniff. Henry is
really a great guy, very playful and with a strong personality, and
loving to people. If I can get him to be friends with Louis, maybe
Tiger can get a break once in a while (he naps more lately, and Louis
constantly needs to play).

Thanks for any observations you can pass along. And thanks to those
who have sent various "Introducing Cats" articles! They've been very
helpful.

Brian Link, Minnesota Countertenor
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"I think animal testing is a terrible idea;
they get all nervous and give the wrong answers."
                          - regmech