Introducing a Kitten to Resident Cat?

Anya is a 6 year old black female. She was raised for 6 months in a vet, when my aunt adopted her for me. She has lived with a dog all this time until May of this year, when my brother and I got an apartment.

I'm not going to lie. My cat is odd. She's not the brightest thing, and she's stupidly skittish at random times. It's like she has memory issues. She is a one-person cat (mine) though she will happily love on my brother during the day.

I have been told on many ocassions to "get her her own kitten". Supposedly it would bring her out of some awkwardness and bring her to play (she does NOT play much at all - she'll play with paper or a round ornament bulb for maybe half an hour before she walks off).

We started pheromones in the living room about a month ago. Four days ago, I adopted a 4 month old kitten for my little brother, who was desperately wanting a companion of his own. We named him Walker. He is very playful, super loving, almost dog-like, and just has to sit on you somehow.

I can't figure out Anya's attitude. If I carry Walker around, she right out ignores him. I even gave her treats at my feet while I sat crosslegged while holding him - and she was perfectly content until he got away from me and went nose to nose with her (so, her reaction was absolutely classic).

The moment Walker's feet hit the floor, Anya's done. She hisses softly and growls at him. It's almost funny how quiet she is about him - but I know she's angry, because she will turn on me too.

Walker has his own bedroom (my brothers). Anya's safe haven has always been my room. He stays locked up almost 24/7 with one of us in there with him. She gets the run of the house.

We are currently feeding them between closed doors. I've also changed Anya's schedule from free-feeding to 2 meals a day (8 and 8 am/pm). Every meal is a different reaction. Sometimes she'll eat closer to his bedroom door without a second look. Other times I can't entice her to even look at her bowl from yards away, even though I know she's starving.

The moment he's locked in his room she goes back to acting like nothing's changed. Sometimes she'll want to stick her nose under his door, then just walk off - other times she'll hiss and growl as she walks by, almost like it's for "good measure".

I'm getting super annoyed because I can't judge her. Every time we think we're making process she'll do something completely unexpected. It's been about three days - I know that's too short, but I can't figure out how to judge progress based on her behavior. She's all over the chart.

We did make a mistake tonight. Today was the day she ate treats right at my feet while I held him. So we tried to feed them tonight through a cracked door, with her about three feet away (he's fine, he'll eat out of her bowl if we let him). She wouldn't even look at her food, even though she was hungry enough to be caught munching dried leaves that came in off the porch. I tried backing her up and everything.

We tried a play date with them since both seemed oddly frisky (like I said, Anya doesn't play). We had them in separate sections of the living room, but Walker took off after Anya's toy before we had barely started. That's the first time Anya ever brought claws out - because he chased it almost on top of her. The claws were clearly defense, not offense, but it still made a mess of the date. So back to his room Walker went.

Then we went to the store and got canned meat. She ate that 2 feet from a cracked door, watching him but not once hissing or growling. As she finished, she walked to my bedroom (which she had to walk slightly passed his room to get there), threw a hiss at him on the way, then kept on going.

Even now she's cuddling with me and even played a little, even though she clearly was mad at me about everything today. I don't understand her at all!

I need advice on how to judge her attitude. I read several answers here and I'm encouraged that hissing and growling alone are not actually too aggressive (I've never heard my cat hiss before we got this kitten, though). I need advice on how to tell when she's ready for the next step.

The hardest part of this is Walker's demeanor. He is so sweet, and loving, and loyal. He wants to be with someone always - not just with, but touching them. So I know the moment we try a free-roam for both, he will seek her out. What can I do? Have we ruined any hope of a relationship? Is Anya just not kitten worthy?

By Chrissie