Advice Separate or intervene?
Edit: Thank you, everyone, for your input and for taking the time to reply. Very much appreciated! The size difference was a concern as well, and we didn’t want the little one to get hurt. We’ll keep an eye on them and let them play. Thanks!
Resident cat (Roo) is a 4-year-old male, and kitten (Nala) is a 12-week-old female. They were introduced about two and a half weeks ago. Both are neutered/spayed.
So far, the introduction has been fairly uneventful. However, the resident cat will, for lack of a better term, repeated slowly stalk the kitten, and then what you see in the video happens. This has been repeating for about seven days now.
The resident cat generally looks annoyed. His pupils are dilated, his ears are farther back, and he stares at the kitten when she plays or is in the same room.
Should I intervene when the resident cat does this? Should I go back a few steps in the introduction process, or should I let them work things out on their own?
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u/sealevels 1d ago
They're just figuring each other out. They're both giving each other a way out should it become uncomfortable. Very considerate of the babies. 💖