We adopted an 8 month old kitten on Saturday and he's been confined to the office since then and he's adjusted very well to being here. Today for about 2 minutes, the office door was cracked open a tiny bit and my older cat and he sniffed each other...he was very curious and wanted some interaction, but my cat just stared at him, she showed no aggression but she looked like she'd just seen a ghost for about half an hour after we shut the door.
Tonight she was sleeping on the couch and I went in the office to play w/ the kitten, and I was in there for about 15 minutes. My boyfriend said that Coco (old cat) was sitting near the door, staring at it intently, during that time. Then I came out (they had no interaction but she heard him playing) and she's terrified again. It's like she thinks he's a monster that's about to come after her! It's probably pertinent to note that she's 13, and has never been with another cat besides when she was a baby. Could she not understand yet that he's a cat, too?
I have no idea what to do. Do we continue to keep the kitten in the office w/ zero interaction (even though she now knows he's in there) until she gets over her fear? Do we put him in a carrier so she can see/approach him without him seeming threatening? Do we put up a gate in the doorway so they can see each other and she can get used to him being there? I feel awful that she's so scared, she's acting like she's at the vet.
The kitten is a total sweetheart, completely non-aggressive, he came from a foster home w/ many other cats and was very submissive and non-threatening with them, so I'm not really worried about him bullying her.
I would really really appreciate any advice!
Tonight she was sleeping on the couch and I went in the office to play w/ the kitten, and I was in there for about 15 minutes. My boyfriend said that Coco (old cat) was sitting near the door, staring at it intently, during that time. Then I came out (they had no interaction but she heard him playing) and she's terrified again. It's like she thinks he's a monster that's about to come after her! It's probably pertinent to note that she's 13, and has never been with another cat besides when she was a baby. Could she not understand yet that he's a cat, too?
I have no idea what to do. Do we continue to keep the kitten in the office w/ zero interaction (even though she now knows he's in there) until she gets over her fear? Do we put him in a carrier so she can see/approach him without him seeming threatening? Do we put up a gate in the doorway so they can see each other and she can get used to him being there? I feel awful that she's so scared, she's acting like she's at the vet.
The kitten is a total sweetheart, completely non-aggressive, he came from a foster home w/ many other cats and was very submissive and non-threatening with them, so I'm not really worried about him bullying her.
I would really really appreciate any advice!