hunting or curiosity?

i just got a new kitten
7 weeks
i have 2 other cats

i've separated all of them in the following manner

there's a big high board at the end of the corridor sectioning off the guest toilet the office and the guest bedroom...

this is so zooey and bobbie can get in to see mythie if curiosity should get the better of them...

but it's high enough so that mythie can't jump out

there's also a cat tree by the board so that bobbie and zooey can watch her... from up high... and they've been doing plenty of watching since yesterday...

inbetween the cat tree and the board is a thin curtain i've hung up so that they all think they can't be seen...

i'm just a little anxious as i saw zooey watching her this evening for about 30minutes... how do i know if it's friendly watching or if it's hunting?

my fiancee said if either zooey or bobbie wanted to they would have attacked her a long time ago...

there hasn't been much hissing or anything...
bobbie hissed once ... but it wasn't a very convincing hiss ...

and then today i held mythie up to the curtain when so zooey could smell her and she didn't hiss once until mythie batted her through the curtain on the nose....

so... i guess i'm just paranoid but how do i tell if zooey is hunting mythie? i know bobbie isn't... but zooey is a little less predictable...

Hi there-

You are doing everything right so far. Zooey is not hunting the new kitty, simply being watchful. That is a very young kitten to leave mom so it is good that she knows there are other cats nearby. If the kitten has been to the vet and been cleared for health concerns, you can try and put her out with the others, but be careful and stay nearby. Have a heavy (dark) towel or blanket ready to throw over a cat should it start fighting. But with one so young, I would be inclined to try them together first (carefully) as the little one should still be with mom and siblings and will need the comfort of another cat (if they will tolerate her)

You don't say if your other cats are fixed (neutered) or not? If there is a male, I would not put that intact male with the kitten until the older cat was neutered.

all neutered
all female
zooey is about 8 months
bobbie just over a year

yeah...
it's been less than 24hours
i'm quite surprised it's going so well

i read in a book that rubbing butter (just a teensey bit)
on the kittens head between the years will encourage other cats to lick it off
and thus help them bond....

should i try this?

zooey and bobbie are fairly greedy cats
maybe it'll work...

No I would not try the butter trick myself. If you have vanilla extract- you can put a little on each cat, under their chins, and on the base of their tails so that they can all smell the same.

But putting butter on the kitten might make the older cats think they have a new snack to try.

i have rose essence
will that work?

It should, I wouldn't use a lot of it though, just a dab. It might be a bit strong for the cats to deal with- like heavy perfume.

after i rose essenced them
they don't seem to mind the smell
i also added some rose essence to my oil burner
and to our bed which is where bobbie & zooey sleep

as you suggested
i dabbed them with rose essence
and let them all out in the living room together
there was a bit of hissing from bobbie
just sort of warning hisses...
like 'don't get too close, i'm not comfortable with you around yet'

zooey and her were playing hide and seek from a distance
zooey hissed a little when she got too close
but no fighting

WHAT A RELIEF!!!!!!

my friend phillipa said she's never seen an older cat beat up a kitten so small before...

come to think of it, neither have i...

i don't want to jinx it....
but it's not going too badly....