getting a kitten into a household with older cat

Question
We took in an abdoned cat three years ago.He has very little contact with other cats.  We brought in a sick little kitten about three weeks ago.  He's better and beginning to run around etc.  The established cat will now go into the kitchen without throwing a fit when by his litter box and food bowl.  But when they have been together in living room, things are not going well.  Lots of hissing, lunging, on established cat's part.  Little guy will roll onto his side.  Think he just wants to play. Is there any hope for at least a truce?  Probably have had physical contact (limited) for 7-10 days--alittle at a time. Are we going about this too fast?  Established cat sleeps with us and little guy stays in kitchen at night.

Answer
Rod,

Well, the toothpaste is out of the tube, so to speak, and you cannot get it back in!

Now that they have met, the best thing to do, in my opinion, is let them have free reign to sort it all out.  So, far, it sounds as if things are going as expected.  However, there are a few things that you can do which may help.

1)  No separation.  Now that they have met, do not separate them again.  If there is lost of noise, grit your teeth and ignore it.  There may even be some loose fur, ignore that too. Rarely will two cats hurt each other, especially if one is a kitten.  Bedtime may get a little interesting for a bit, but they will sort that out too!

2) No interference. Again, do not intervene in their discussions. We mere humans do not understand how cats determine their inter-relationships. In general human intervention will be counter productive and delay their reconciliation.

3) Cats do get jealous, so it is a good idea to lavish extra attention and treats on the established cat. It may make the established cat think having the kitten around is a good thing!!!!!

4) Separate food bowls and water dishes may not be a bad idea, at least for a while, until they get more used to each other.

5) Another litter pan in another part of the household may not be a bad idea, as cats can get very territorial over litter pans.

All-in-all, I have seen cats get along in a few hours to taking many weeks.  If you leave them alone, they will get along much more quickly.  Adult cats are very tolerant of kittens and seem to take to them more quickly.  You really have not given them enough time and the separation at night is prolonging the process.

If one is chasing the other, even if it ends up in a "fight", this is a very good sign.  We tend to attribute human emotions and feelings to cats.  This is not a good thing to do, in general.  Cats are built to play very roughly with each other.  As long as no one is drawing blood, I would ignore any of their discussions.

Please let me know how it goes.

Best regards... Norm.