Help my kittys get along

[suandis]

I am hoping someone may have some advice to offer me. I have a cat that is 13 years old and has always been skittish. She mostly stays in the garage and only comes in occassionally. She is rarely seen and doesn't interact with us very frequently. She is a real scaredy cat. She is always stressed. She is a gray long haired cat and her front paws are declawed.
Her name is Wizard

I recently adopted a Turkish Van and I love the attention. She was 7 months old when we got her. Her name is Flower. She gets along with the dogs okay but she sneaks out into the garage and torments our other poor little cat. At first I figured they would just have to get used to each other but this doesn't seem to be happening and I am concerned because she is aggressive and has all of her claws. Poor little Wizard found a box to stay in and seems to stay there most of the time. Meanwhile Flower has been chewing on the box trying to get at her.

I figure I can keep them separated but winter in Colorado is very cold ...even in the garage and I am afraid Wizard will not come in the house because of Flower. I hate to think that Wizard is living every moment scared to death when the garage door opens that Flower will come out. Flower has really become part of the family. She is always the first one to greet me in the morning and hangs out with me while I shower. My children love her too and it would break all of our hearts if we got rid of her but I can not get rid of Wizard. She is an old cat now and her paranoya would make it difficult to place her anywhere...I also feel very loyal to her even though she has not been the best companion.

I think the problem is I have one aggressive cat and one scaredy cat and they will never work it out. If you have any advice you can provide me I would really appreciate it.

[Traci]

You didn't mention anything about bringing Wizard in and acclimating her strictly indoors and going through the introduction period, this is probably the solution.

It's never too late to bring her in and keep her strictly indoors from here on. Being that she is 13 years of age, she is a candidate for health issues common for senior kitties, you'd be able to monitor her better for any signs of ill health. Plus, the stress she is enduring of late, that could be reduced significantly being indoors.

Please read the other posts in the forum for introducing kitties. Jason has posted several great techniques that might be perfect for your situation.