Old Cat and Young Children Problem

[flybye023]

As I mentioned in my other post we are watching The Rex (3 1/2) and Rexito (19 months) for the week. We have an 11-year-old neutered tom who has not been around little kids much and is terrified of them. He used to just hide which is fine if the visit only lasts 3 days or so, but longer visits he gets tired and bored after 3 days and comes out even if the boys are around. Then there is a lot of growling, hissing and spitting but he refuses to leave the area, or even back away from the situation.

At one point I thought that we just needed to let the three of them work out there issues alone--that if the boys got scratched after a threat display (right now they think the warnings are funny) they would learn to just leave him alone. Now, after watching the interaction over this weekend, I'm more afraid the cat will just bottle it up then just go apeshit and really hurt one of the kids.

Any suggestions for introducing them in a more controlled manner?

Oh, and I should probably mention that this visit the cat does seem more comfortable(er, confident?) around them since he hasn't even tried to hide and doesn't move away...buuuut...

[HorrorFrogPrincess]

Make sure the kids know NOT to mess with him. Tell them straight up if they want Kitty to like him, leave him alone. And hold out treats on the palm of their hands and let Kitty come to them.

My cat didn't like my 3 year old nephew, either, not being used to kids. He was over today, and I was able to hold Tiger and let the kid pet him a little. Cat was still freaked out, but didn't wiggle away as much.

Of course, he's not an aggressive cat, and would just run outside, but he'd never threaten the kid in any way.