Help Needed! Afraid of kittens- low confidence

[Brilloluna]

My housemate got 2 kittens a couple of months ago. They're now 6 months old. Cricket is 5 1/2 years old.

Cricket is afraid of them. One (Leia) pretty much ignores Cricket- the other one (Dobby) thinks it's fun to bounce off Cricket's head (no claws involved). The kittens are not aggressive towards Cricket in any way. I've been working with the kittens- redirecting them with play, moving them to another location, and so forth- trying to get them to give Cricket some space. I've been blocking Dobby's attempts to "play" with Cricket because she just cowers. Cricket is not cat-aggressive in any way.. When the kittens play, she cringes and hides under a table in the corner of the livingroom. She normally plays fetch in the house, but she won't when the kittens are around... It's been a while.. would like to get her back to normal, and own her space...

She now seems to have colitis, and the vet thinks it could be stress-related. She's on a bland diet- see if that helps... But the fact she's having physical symptoms of this stress is worrying me.

How can I help Cricket understand that these kittens will not hurt her? Would like to tackle this from a behavioral viewpoint. Tips? Ideas? Help?
Thanks!

 

[Manydogs]

You may need to gate the kittens off, so Cricket can de-stress. If it is giving her colitis,she needs a break! They have each other to play with, and surely plenty of toys. As long as she can see them at the gate, when they settle down some, let them with her a little at a time. You don't want to put her health at risk. There are also pheramone plug ins that may help settle Cricket for the time being.

 

[2BullyMama]

Agree... Cricket needs to destress.

My first bulldog was afraid of cats too... would leave room or run away.

I wish I had some advice


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[Brilloluna]

You may need to gate the kittens off, so Cricket can de-stress. If it is giving her colitis,she needs a break! They have each other to play with, and surely plenty of toys. As long as she can see them at the gate, when they settle down some, let them with her a little at a time. You don't want to put her health at risk. There are also pheramone plug ins that may help settle Cricket for the time being.

Update: I've separated the kittens from Cricket, during the daytime... Theyre under close supervision when everyone has access to each other. Dobby hasn't bounced off Cricket's head today... she seemed slightly less tense (I do have the pheromone things plugged in- several throughout the house)...

Maybe with treats, she'll lighten up a little bit... she does like sweet potato.. hmm...

Thanks for the tips- will keep you posted