Older cat hates kitten

Question
Hi,
I have an eight year old cat, Phoebe, that I rescued (she was a stray) at 4 weeks of age. She has only been accustomed to humans and was very sociable and pampered. In January, my husband and I brought home a very sweet and playful 12 week old kitten,Ally, who we fell in love with. We figured in due time, Phoebe would get used to her because she wasn't too happy when we originally brought Ally home. We also thought it was a good idea to get her a companion since we work a lot. Anyhow, eight months later, Phoebe remains bitter, appears depressed, has lost weight, doesn't want to play with us anymore, and looks so emaciated. Back in April, I even had bloodwork done because she appeared unwell and I thought it was due to the pet food recall in March. Everything came back normal and the vet only recommended that I change her diet. Anyhow, I honestly think it is because of Ally that she appears as though she is deteriorating. I love Phoebe so much and I sometimes regret bringing home Ally though I love her as well. I even tried Feliway diffusers to see if that would calm Phoebe but it has been about 7 weeks and there is no change. Both cats are indoor cats, Phoebe is eating/drinking/peeing/pooing normal... but just appears depressed and has no spunk in her left. I considered taking her to my parents house for a few weeks so she could have a "vacation" from Ally since she knows my parents house and likes being there. Is there anything you can recommend? I don't want to have to keep her at my parent's (where there's no other pets) too long but she seems miserable at our house because of Ally. Ally on the other hand is a healthy, playful+++, happy 10 month old kitten. Please advise! I'm desperate because our cats are like our kids to us and it is breaking my heart seeing Phoebe like this.
Regards, Nancy

Answer
HI Nancy,

First I will say that honestly I have never seen a pair of cats not figure things out on thier own in due time and it is generally a lot sooner than this.  Believe me, I have introduced many kittens in my breeding career!  :)  In my experience the worst case scenario has been that if cats truly aren't getting along they will stake out thier own territories in the house and stick to them.  I would tend to think this is more of a medical issue than the new kitten and may be worth a second vet visit.  It is however a differen't story if Ally is 'terrorizing' Pheobe?  It is actually quite common for a kitten to be overly rambunctious with an older cat, constantly trying to play, scaring them while they are sleeping or trying to use the litter box etc but you don't mention anything like that?  Are you having any litter box issue's with Pheobe?  Is she hiding a lot?  
  If this isn't the case, other than the feliway, which usually works very well, there are some flower remedies you can try that will lessen Pheobe's stress levels they are by Back and the one most commonly used is called rescue remedy, it is used a lot with show cats to calm nerves but can also be used on a daily basis for issue's such as yours.  Another option would be to see a homeopathic vet who could speak to you about the history of the problem and perscribe specific remedies that may be more tailored to what Pheobe may need.  Also, until a more permanent solution can be found, Pheobe may need some alone time with her people, I would make sure you secure Ally somewhere that she is happy and comfy for an hour or so, like a bedroom, and spend some quality time with Pheobe where she is the queen of the house again and has all of your attention.

Hope this helps!

Natoma