I have two cats, a 4 year old rescue and a 6 month old kitten. Kitten is spayed, chipped, and spayed. We did a long gradual introduction and the cats are ok together as long as my kitten is calm and doesnt bother older cat. Problem is, she ALWAYS wants to play with him and he gets very stressed at this. We have tried lots of things over the last 4 months but at the end of the day, older cat does not want to play at all. And kitten only wants to play. We have to keep them separate, but obv cant keep this up forever. Our thinking recently has been once she calms down a bit as she gets older and can go out they will be ok as she will be getting lots of stimulation outside and will let off a lot of energy and so might not be so relentless with older cat. It also means he gets free reign of the house while she is out.
The problem is... I REALLY dont want her to go out. I am terrified. Shes very friendly with all people, very confident, curious, and daft! Anything could happen to her out there. Older cat is very timid and will not go near anyone other than me, and will not roam far so i trust him to keep himself safe (to a certain extent of course). The thought of letting kitten out fills me with panic and anxiety. But the alternative is to live in a house where one cat is always shut out and we cant walk around the house freely because we have to quickly shut doors so that kitten doesnt fly out.
What would you do here? We have tried just leaving them to it but she does not stop even when he hisses and growls and slaps her and he gets very very distressed. I want his home to be somewhere he is happy and safe and can relax. Everyone said she will learn when he tells her off, but she doesn't, it makes her more giddy! They just cant be together while she has so much kitten energy and playfulness. Am i being silly about being scared to let her out? Im scared that someone will steal her or she will get herself stuck somewhere. I really dont know what to do