Kitten won't let up on older cat

We've had our kitten Amber for six months now, and when I first brought her into our home, her and my older cat Jake didn't really get along. She just wanted to play with him, and he wanted nothing to do with her (which I expected). However, by now I expected her to have let up a little on the playing and give Jake some peace, and although they do show signs of getting along better(sometimes they'll sleep together, and I once saw Jake lick Amber as she slept), they're still pretty much at odds. I'm mainly concerned because Amber's playing is very aggressive and every time Jake comes into the house (he's an indoor/outdoor cat, whereas Amber is strictly indoors) she's pouncing on his head, biting his hind legs (which looks painful), and practically body slamming him (he'll give it back sometimes, but mostly he just runs to the door to be let out again
). She also jumps on him when he's sleeping, and I get very upset because she wakes him up and gets him agitated. Last night for instance, they were both sleeping nicely on our bed, but when I got in bed, Amber woke up and first started licking Jake on his side, but then bit him a couple of times so hard that he "cried out", woke up, growled, and jumped off the bed. I just don't know what to do. I love Amber very much, but I also want Jake to get a little peace in the house, and not always want to run outside the minute he's done eating because he's so mad. It's funny because when they're outside together (I let her out with me sometimes but never alone) she doesn't bother him. Maybe because there's so much to see? Anyway, is there anything I can do about this? TIA.

That sounds like what Dexter does to Pixel, if I am home I will separate them for a while and let Dexter cool off. Pixel isn't old but she wants no part of it.

You probably don't want to hear this, but perhaps get Amber a playmate her age? I almost always bring in a pair the same age so they can play with each other, and eventually as they age they integrate closer with the older cats. This works for me!

You're right momo that's not what I wanted to hear. We have enough animals as is (along with the cats, there's also a dog and two birds in our family), and also finances are somewhat tight right now, so bringing in another cat is just not feasible. Thank you for the suggestion though.

I have a little trouble-maker too. I find that if I play a very wild and active 10 minutes with her once in the morning and once in the evening (in addition to attention inbetween) that she leaves the older cats alone. I pull a cord behind as I run madly through the house with her chasing me; I throw bouncy balls and fur mice back and forth and up and down the stairs, I play with her with a cat dancer, etc. The play needs to be very active so that she can work out all of the excessive energy she stores up over night and throughout the day.

Good luck!

Well I do play with her at night to tire her out (she loves playing chase ), and she does go to sleep, but I should probably do it closer to my bedtime and see if that helps. Although I don't know if that will stop the 4-5am wrestling matches they have, but I'll try it. Thanks so much lotso .