Help with bringing DM cat to live with me

[notcopingwellwithDMdementia]

I need some help/advice please.

DM is currently in a care home after being in hospital. I don't know if she will be able to live in her own home again. She has a nearly 3 year old cat who is currently being cared for by her neighbour. DM's house is an hour away from me.

This can't go on indefinitely and I feel that rehoming DM's cat would be for the best.

Plan A is to bring him to live with me, DH, DS, Ddog (2) and Dcat (3.)

What is the best way to do this?

Ddog would love to be friends with my Dcat but this is Dcat's idea of hell, so Dcat spends most of his indoor time upstairs - his food and water and litter tray are upstairs and Ddog is not allowed upstairs.

DM's cat has no experience of dogs but does seem to be quite friendly with neighbours cats when outside.

My worries are keeping all 3 separated initially and how much stress it may cause both cats.

Does anyone have experience of anything similar?

Plan B would be to rehome DM's cat with someone else.

I want to give Plan A a go even if I have to end up going with Plan B.

Any suggestions/ideas/experiences/thoughts would be very welcome. TIA

Hopeful bump?

I think you just need to try it.

Sounds like dog will like new cat.

Old cat won't like new cat and will see upstairs as her territory

Good chance new cat will like dog and they can own downstairs

And you have a Plan B.

I think you just need to try it. Use the feliway plug ins upstairs and down.

Put the new cat in one room only to start with and not with dog...you'll get a sense from the cat when she's ready to explore more

identify a space where you can keep new cat in initially. They’ll probably just hide under the bed initially. Get only cardboard box to make little home for them. Keep food water litter in there. Keep them there for a week going in to play and chat to them. The cat and dog will know there is a newcomer , quite useful to have feliway or some sort of plug in system which calms them all down. Maybe then put new cat in a cat carrier and bring them into the other cats space so they can see them, or better still use a crate to keep them in for a few hours. Where cat can see both dog and cat. This might take a couple weeks. Once the cats have stopped any hissing and growling I’d let the new cat have the run of the house while keeping their safe space. Don’t let new cat outside for at least a month.

We've done a similar rehoming recently - it took 2 and a half months for everyone to tolerate each other and at one point we almost gave up. What did help was letting our cat lick the foil of the newly bereved cat's food pouches in the doorway of the room he was staying in whilst he ate a bowl full - a sort of gift from him to her