Kitty and Rabbit Advice

Kitty and Rabbit - Help!

My boyfriend and I recently adopted a cat from the shelter as we lost one of our dear pets. She is the sweetest, we both have never owned cats but she's 5.5 lbs, just over a year old and she is just an angel.

We also have a pet rabbit (we've had him for almost 3 years) also a rescue. We live in a 1 bedroom 1 bath apartment (pretty spacious). We have our rabbit in our living room (he will eventually get a buddy) who is in a large enclosure. He gets time to come outside of his cage typically at night and in the morning.

Ever since we brought the kitty home, he has been TERRIFIED of her. Our rabbit is 6 lbs so he is bigger than her lol and he is a very social, outgoing bunny. We haven't let them get close obviously, but even from seeing her across the room he got startled and upset. We have our kitty in our bedroom so they are separated. Kitty is great and could not care less about the rabbit lol its the rabbit who is scared.

I wanted any tips / advice on how other cat owners have dealt with introducing to rabbits or other pets.

For the future, we will keep them in separate rooms and they will not be in each others territories. I more want both animals to feel comfortable and safe and eventually if our rabbit feels comfortable to approach her area that would be great. If not, that's okay too.

We also ordered a 6 feet retractable gate to put a physical barrier between the 2. She doesn't seem very skittish in the sense that she would jump over but any advice is much appreciated!