Cat rejecting new kitten

Hi!,
We have a 10-11 month old cat, Sassy(female), adopted from a shelter. Sassy is alone all day, so we adopted a male kitten,(oliver, 8 weeks) from a friend, to keep her company. Just brought him home last night. Sassies nose is out of joint! She attacks the kitten constantly. Biting, poucning on him, etc. We have done our best to still show affection to the older cat. I believe her behaviour to be the result of jealousy. My husband says Sassy if defending her territory. At first he said they are just playing, but I don't think so. The kitten is obviously defending itself, (Hissing, back up)Hubby thinks Sassy will adjust.

Any suggestions to help the transition?

Thanks,
Wendy

It sounds like they are establishing their places in the household. Give them a little while to adjust to each other and they should be fine. As long as they are not hurting each other, I would just let them go ahead and get it over with. If they get too wild, just separate them for a little while. We go through this every time a new cat comes home with me. I have 4 now and they are 1 happy little feline family.

Hi
There are a number of threads in the archieves on introducing a new cat or kitten to a current resident cat. These threads contain a lot of good information. Some people recommend keeping the new kitten in one room for the first few days, and then introducing any other cats gradually. If you look up toward the top of the page, you will see seven small rectangular boxes. Click on the one that says search, type in the keywords introducing new kitten to older cat or something very similiar, and the threads on introducing two cats will be shown. There are also very knowledgeable people here who can provide you with additional help.

It's normal behavior for the resident cat to get upset. There is a new cat in her territory. The reason you should seperate them for at least a week is A: When you bring a new cat home it is very possible they could have a virus or any number of things that they can give your resident cat. You want to watch the new cat to make sure they aren't going to get sick.
B: Cats are territorial and creatures of habit. They need time to adjust to new things. By putting the new kitten in a seperate room it gives the resident cat time to smell from under the door and gives you time to gradually introduce the new cat. Just by you coming out of the room with the new cats scent on you, your resident cat can smell you. You can also bring something the resident cat sleeps on into the kittens room. This gives the kitten a chance to smell the other cat. If you do it slow, the resident cat has a little more time to soak in the new change and it less upset when the kitten comes out to play.

We have been through this a few times as well. In my experience, I work the new cat into the home slowly...give the old kitty lots of love and keep a close eye on the 2 when they are together. Maybe separate them when you aren't home. They will get used to each other...congrats on the new baby!