Could my kitten cause my older cat to have a heart attack?

Okay, this may seem like an odd question. However, my "older" cat is 1 year old and is very skiddish. If you walk past her when she's not expecting it she gets very scared. She is also a bit scared of our kitten. They get along okay, but sometimes he sneaks up behind her and pounces on her. The kitten thinks this is big fun. Our older cat gets petrified and hides. This usually happens about twice a day. We keep the kitten in a closed off room at night so our older cat can have a few hours of trusted peace.

The older cat is very healthy, is not obese and I have no reason to think that she would have a heart attack now. But could all of the stress she's around cause her problems down the road? Am I shortening her life span by allowing stressful situations (as much as I try to prevent them)? Is there something I can do to calm her (other than the Comfort-Zone plug in?

It is probably pretty unlikely that this could cause your other kitty to have a heartattack but I have seen some cats that are stressed pull their fur out or lick themselves constantly. I would speak to your vet about options for your older kitty...it sounds like he is stressed all the time if he is that skiddish. Probably in time the kitten will calm down a bit and bug your older cat less.

Heart attack not very likely, but I agree that stress could take a toll on the other cat, 1 year old or any age. Look for over-grooming of fur on the forearms. Cats will clean themselves more obsessively when they have a stress problem.

We are new to this same situation as you with a 5-month old very active kitten who seems to think that Mitty, our 15-year old female, is her personal play thing. Even caught her riding on top of Mitty's back the other day, like a cowboy. Mitty likes this, yes, she does. Not. Usually, the game they play is "bat the cat." They also kiss each other on the nose every day too, so there can be agreement every now and then.

Your cats should settle into a sort of groove eventually, but this could take months. Hang in there. Cats are very mysterious creatures.

One of my cats Shadow gets stressed. The signs are that he pulls the hair out of his tail or on his feet. He's a bit skitty, theres no reason for it. it's just his personality.

You dont need to worry about heart attacks, and i'm sure your older cat will settle down with the kitty eventually. It'll just take time and patience.