Introducing a 2 month old kitten to a 4 year old cat.

I have a 4 year old female cat, she doesn’t play much, she is curious but shy, and very very very sweet. She never hisses or growls at anyone. I just got a 2 month old female kitten on 07/24/26. She is energetic and very sweet but an ankle biter lol.

The first night my older cat didn’t like the smell of the kitten on me. Then the second day she was fine with the smell. I let the kitten out of her base camp and let her roam. The older was still not affected by her scent. I let the kitten out again but she went into my room where the older was hiding under my bed. She was really far under my bed too. The older hisses and growled but no real aggression happened. The kitten would immediately lay down and stair at her. Then she would walk away and ignore my older cat. I then was feeding my older cat a lick treat and she only hissed at the kitten if she got too close then went back to the treat.

By the third night I had to move my older cat’s litter, food, and water into my room since she wasn’t using them. The next morning I let the kitten out from her base camp again and my cat was able to watch the kitten from her bed that is on the corner of my bed. She did not hiss or growl. That night she came closer to the edge of the bed to watch the kitten speed around the main room. Once the kitten calmed down and would sit with me, the older would come out of my room but as soon as she saw the kitten she would hiss and retreat back to my room. The kitten once again did not chase she just laid down and stared at the older. The older was also able to eat a treat right next to the kitten, the kitten laid down and watched. The older would hiss when I paused giving her the treat. The older comes out once the kitten is back into her camp, she isn’t nervous or stressed. She is relaxed and lays on me and lets me pet her a purrs.

I really want them to get along and I know it takes time but all the research I’ve done says leave the kitten shut away in a base camp for weeks?! That just makes me so sad that I have to let her out for at least a little. She cries when I wake up to be let out.

The kitten is put back into her base camp every night when I go to sleep and I don’t let her out if I am not home.

The older also lets me pet her when the kitten is close.

I am a new cat owner these are my first ever cats.

Any advice would help and a time line would be very helpful. I am a plan based person lol.