I added a kitten to the family, but...

My resident cat which has been with me for 9 years has not accepted my new 2 month old baby kitten very well. At first I did an immediate introduction and it did not work well because my resident cat (Smokey, hence my username) began to hiss and growl. It's been about a week and there is still aggression from my resident cat to the newcomer. How can I quickly resolve this issue? I'm afraid my Smokey will never like the kitten.

OK, crash course. Intros often take months. You need to do a gradual introduction, search the forums for "introduction" & you will find a wealth of info.

Your kitty is 9 years old, Smokey will take longer to adjust, especially to a royally annoying little kitten.

Hi and congrats on the new kitten!

First, I would put the kitten in an area where he can be safe from the older cat. The bathroom is ideal or maybe your bedroom. Make sure the kitten has his own /food and water and litter box with him in his safe zone. The litter box should be small enough so that the kitten can easily get in and out of it.

Spend lots of extra time loving and reassuring your older cat so that he knows he's still the "top" cat. At the same time, express to him that you love the new baby too and that's he's a part of the family now. I know it may sound weird, but Smokey should understand

Let Smokey smell the kitten through the closed door.

Whichever room you decide to put the kitten in, you need to let him out occasionally. When you do this, put Smokey in the kitten's area and let the kitten out to explore a bit. This will give Smokey a chance to smell the kitten's area and to get used to his smell. When you do this avoid Smokey spotting the kitten so there is no confrontation. You may have to do this patiently for about a week.

When you do allow them to see each other, keep the "visits" short and supervised, making it clear to Smokey that yes you love him but that you love the baby too. Putting a drop of vanilla on the back of their tails and neck will help tremendously because they will both "smell" the same and this will help them accept each other faster.

If you don't have vanilla you can always give them a very light quick spray with your cologne. It has to be a very very light spray (you don't want their fur getting wet in any way because of the alcohol). Make sure to hold the bottle at least 2 feet away from them, if you do this.

The idea is to get just enough of a scent on them to trick them into thinking they smell the same. Using the vanilla is preferable though and that too just a tiny little drop.

Give it a bit of time, and soon hopefully they will become good friends. By the way, I take it Smokey is a male? What about the new kitten?

Keep us posted!