Cat afraid of kitten

[gleason]

I have a 10 year old cat that has been the only cat in the house for several years. I have a couple of 12 week old kittens outside (they have access to the heated garage). One of the kittens has gotten pretty friendly and has come in the house a couple of times. My senior cat is afraid of the kitten and runs and hides as soon as he comes in. Any ideas on how to get her to accept the kitten? I'd like to bring him in more but I don't want her always hiding.

 

[maggie101]

Your cat can't socialize with the kitten if she's not there. It will take time but it will eventually work out. Your cat may hide but at least she can watch

 

[FeebysOwner]

I would treat it as any case where new cats are being introduced into a household. It would be easier if you plan on bringing these kittens inside full time, but these TCS articles on introductions might still be of benefit in helping you to devise a plan.
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat – TheCatSite Articles
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

 

[Tik cat's mum]

My boy ran when we bought the kitten into the house at first. Then after he had looked on from a far for a few day's started to become more warmed towards him. A lot of grown cat's are nervous of kitten's because they are unpredictable and have a tendency to want to play, grown cat's avoid others so it takes time to understand why this little cat thinks it's acceptable to come into thier territory and jump on them. Like maggie101 said it takes time but will work out. FeebysOwner has given you some excellent links. Good luck.

 

[gleason]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes.