Sorry if this is a bit long...

A little less than a week ago, I took in a stray (seemingly abandoned)
cat that was found in and around the building where I work. My office
building is in an industrial park at least 5 miles away from any
residential area.

The cat was very "people friendly" and would rub up against you and
purr everytime you'd get close which led us to believe that she'd been
abandoned or dumped, as she was so used to people and hungered for
human contact.

I took the cat to the vet before bringing her home, where she received
her first series of shots and a worm pill and got a clean bill of
health. I set up an extra bedroom I have with a litter box, and food
and water and some scratch toys.

Two days later she went in for her spay operation - and it's now been 3
days since the operation and she is fine. All bodily functions are fine
(input and output). She is affectionate, energetic, playful and
potentially an ideal pet.

The problem? My other two cats. Cleo is the top cat - the princess -
and Kidu is a sweet, docile boy who couldn't hurt a flea. Both are
fixed. Cleo is 7 and Kidu is 5. Cleo is used to being the boss and
sometimes swats Kidu just to show him who's number one (but she'll also
give him a lick every once in a while).

The new one however (her name is Vanessa - who the vet says is around a
year old), has completely disrupted the status quo    (duh:-)). She
accidentally got out of her room (I had tried to set up a framed screen
which was larger than a door against entrance to her room. I propped it
up and "secured" it with some cartons so that the cats can start to see
each other and she could get some more fresh air.

However, Vanessa managed to squeeze herself out of there and
chase/attack Cleo. You should have seen the hair flying. I thought that
they'd kill each other, but Cleo managed to escape to a high perch and
I was eventually able to catch Vanessa and put her back in her room.
She eventually calmed down but Cleo took a long time to come down from
her perch.

I know these things take time, and I guess what I need to hear are
similar stories where all hope was lost, but the cats eventually
managed to worked it out between themselves.

I really want to keep this new cat because she is such a sweetie and
needs a home, but not at the expense of my two other babies.

My instincts tell me, no contact between the cats for at least a week
before I try again.  Vanessa also needs to totally recoup from her ops
(although she is a bundle of energy and dying to get out of that room!)
and the other cats need to recoup from their ordeal.

Any insights or thoughts or words of encouragement from any of you
however would be greatly appreciated! I'm feeling quite frustrated
right now.

Thanks!
Marcie