Older cat and new kitten

Question
My older cat is about 4 years old and has been the only pet.  We recently added a 6 week old kitten to our household.  It has now been 5 weeks and the older cat still hisses at the kitten and runs away.  The older cat spends most of her time outside or in the basement.  When she does come in, she looks around carefully to see if the kitten is there.  If she sees the kitten, she runs back downstairs or outside.  At night we have always closed the cat in the basement.  She sleeps with my daughter and has a 2,000 square foot basement to herself.  This way they have no contact during the night.  

It has already been 5 weeks and no improvement.  I am wondering if the older cat will ever get used to the little one or should I find a good home for the kitten while it is still little and irrestistable?


Answer
Dena,

It sounds like your older cat is likely to be experiencing some anxiety due to the introduction of the kitten which is fairly normal if they are introduced too abruptly. Cats are very territorial animals and they are very protective of their territory. Cats also don't like any change to their territory to happen unless it is done drastically. It is fairly common in my experience for cat owners to try and introduce a new cat or kitten into a house with a resident cat or cats. The best way to properly introduce new cats is to isolate them in a room behind a closed door for a period of 2-3 weeks. In this case because you mention that your cat spends a lot of time outside you may want to be sure that the kitten is placed in a room that she will routinely pass on her travels through the house. Typically that 2-3 week isolation period serves two purposes. Firstly it acts as a quarantine period of sorts so that any contagious viral or bacterial infections that may not be visible when you first bring the new cat/kitten home have a chance to be recognized before they are transmitted to your resident cats. The other advantage to introducing a new cat to your household by having this isolation/quarantine period is that it allows your resident cat to gradually become used to the new cat's scent and sounds. If you feed the kitten and the cat on either side of a closed door for about 2 weeks you should notice a shift towards your older cat being less anxious about the new kitten. The first time that your cat and kitten are face to face after this period you will want to have plenty of treats and an interactive toy like a kitty tease on hand so the cat and kitten can get to know each other with positive reinforcement through a non threatening play session. Since it has been 5 weeks you may opt to try a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy which is a blend of flower essences that soothe and comfort. You can generally find Rescue Remedy at health food/natural health stores since the cat and kitten have been in contact fairly regularly for 5 weeks. I would recommend that you try a dosage of about 10 drops per day in fresh water each morning. You should notice a fairly quick turn around in your older cat's behavior. I hope that this information is helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns or you would like to send an update on how things are going my way, please don't hesitate to contact me again.