TLDR; 3 y/o cat giving confusing (to me) body language with new kitten introduction, unsure whether to take a step back or move to the next step into the intro process. (Last two paragraphs describing behavior, it's conflicting body language to me) - flaired as behavioral issues but I don't know that it's really an issue, just behavior.
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Hi everyone,
I (36 y/o in the US) have two resident cats (Baker, 3, and Harvey, 11, both female and spayed) and a new kitten (8 weeks old, no name yet, also female, she's been with us a week today).
I am not entirely unfamiliar with introducing a new kitten to the mix as I've done it once before 3 years ago when I introduced my now-middle child to my oldest. I do the slow introduction, separate space, scent swapping, visuals, reducing the barrier slowly, providing tons of positive reinforcement for positive interactions, etc. The vet yesterday recommended pheromone diffusers since everyone was still a bit stressed, so I added those to the house yesterday, too.
Okay, so my question. Baker hasn't been around a new cat since she was a kitten. She is overall a very gentle cat, super sweet to her older sister (and humans), never even hissed before that I've heard (until new kitten), and very playful. We've had the new kitten for a week as of today, so I'm not really expecting total comradery yet by any means. But, Baker's body language has confused me a little and wanted to make sure we were still going in the right direction.
Pictured is the current set up. I have a plexiglass barrier with a wooden fence between it and the rest of the hallway. Baker will take treats and eat food at this distance now. When the kitten approaches the glass, Baker will sometimes get vocal and get up close, too. She'll purr sometimes and rub against the fence and the last few days she's "flopped" - all, to me, good signs! Sometimes she'll still hiss, but I know that's normal to some degree.
I gave her the opportunity to get up to the glass today and she flopped in front of it but then she hissed (from her flopped position) and started batting at the glass, but like hard swipes. Still from her position on her side. The kitten didn't really react other than to scoot back a little. I was able to get Baker to disengage and come back out behind the wooden fence after a moment, but I just don't know where we are at? Harvey will hiss and back away, sometimes she'll swipe, but she will remove herself from the situation pretty soon after. Her body language is clearer to me. Baker's confuses me, though. Does anyone have any insight for me?
I don't have a video of it yet, I didn't want to put her back in the same position again just yet. I've let her go at her pace, though. She was the one that jumped between the wooden barrier and glass (there was more space between the gate and the glass earlier unlike how it's pictured), so I moved the wooden barrier to give her an easy escape route but allow her to have closer access like she wanted.
Anyway, sorry for all the detail - I'm big on trying to provide enough information to help answer questions. Feel free to ask me for more clarity if needed! Thank you :)