Moving my cats - need you opinion please and thank you

[KittyKatPat]

Hi. I have 4 cats - 2 that are 7 yrs old / 2 that are 4 yrs old. One 4 yr old follows the 7 yr old around all the time (although the 7 yr old is a calico and is a bitch to her). Okay - I am moving and taking only the 2-4 yr old cats (my Mom is keeping the other 2 - where they live now). My question is how will my 4 yr old handle leaving the 7 yr old? Will she adapt? Also I am bringing her and her brother into an environment with two other cats - they are friendly. I am a mess about this whole situation. Will everyone adapt? Any suggestions?

[nern]

I'm sure everyone will adapt with time. As far as bringing your two 4 yr olds into a new home with new cats it would be least stressful for all if you do a gradual introduction. Your cats should be kept in a separate room for several days. During this time you can rub them each with a sock and then leave the socks out for the other cats to smell and vise versa so that they can each get aquanted with the new scents. Then you can switch their spaces...allowing your cats to investigate the house and the others to investigate the room your cats were in. See how it goes from there and if all seems to be going smoothly you can simply open the door to the room in which your cats are staying and allow them to come out if they are ready.