New Kitten VS Old Cat

Question
Hi Jessica,

I have a Siamese cat who's about a year and a half. Recently, I found a kitten on the streets and decided to adopt her. She's about 2 weeks old.
However, my Siamese cat isn't too crazy about her.
She is pretty agressive towards the kitten, and I'm worried for the kitten's safety.
Is there something I can do to make my cat accept the new addition? HELP!

Thank you for the answer in advance.

Best regards,
Vicka  

Answer
Hi Vicka.  Time is usually all that's needed.  But for now, I'd keep them completely separated for most of the time.  If the kitten is only 2 weeks old, her immune system is very immature, and little bugs your older one may be carrying without any symptoms could potentially cause a serious illness in the baby.  I would do my best to make sure the two don't really have any contact until the kitten has been vaccinated for a couple of weeks.  In orphaned kittens, most vets recommend first vaccinations at 5 or 6 weeks.

Once the kitten is vaccinated, you should start with short visits a few times a day.  If they can stand each other for 15 minutes (closely monitored, of course), then you are on an excellent path.  You can increase the time they're exposed to each other each day.  It generally takes about 2 weeks for cats to accept each other this way, though some may take shorter or longer.

The one thing I always recommend for stressful times like introductions is a product called Feliway.  It's geared toward solving litter box and scratching problems by reducing stress.  However, I find using it as a preventative rather than a correction is the best idea.  I'd buy the plug-in diffuser, called Comfort Zone for cats, and start using it immediately.  One diffuser lasts about one month.  You can get it at pet stores or through their site, www.felineway.com.