If you have the time, play with her until she is so tired she wants to sleep at night; or crate her at night; or possibly something from the vet, a medication that might calm her a bit.

I agree with play with her to tire her out. One of the feathers/balls on a stick would be good. When she jumps on your back, grab her by the back of the neck, like her mother would, say "no" sternly and set her down. Cats do understand, doesn't mean they will listen, but ours do. If you can avoid letting her jump on you that would be best lol. We don't let our cats sleep with us. They have their own room and they go to "bed" at nine, then up at 6 with my husband. I would not,, personally,, crate or sedate her. She is a kitten and has boundless energy she needs to use up.

Thank you so much! I am most definitely going to start working with her by grabbing the back of the neck with a firm NO. I was trying to think along the lines of what would Mama cat do so that makes total sense. I defiantly do not want to Medicare her as I'm sure this is normal kitty behavior but she just had not been put in check with it. She is the run of the litter and she was the last kitten to go to her new forever home. The home I picked her up in was very sad. 5 large breed Dogs in crates. I seen at least 7 cats running through the trailer and the smell was so overwhelming it had me sick to my stomach all the way home. The dogs looked so do skinny and were in such small crates. I was left with no choice but to call animal control to go out to the trailer to have a look-see for themselves. No animal deserved to be treated that way or forced to live that way. The sign at the entrance when I pulled in said NO PETS. This trailer was full of them. It was like a mini animal mill. I'm calling them back Monday to make sure they followed through checking out that situation. If I get a ferling they did not? I will go above their head and make another phone call. I'm praying my little girl Echo is not a part of inbreeding. It would explain some of her behaviour. Thank you again. Please know how much I appreciate your advise. Cath

Well done to you for doing this! Bravo! I let my two 12 year old cats sleep with me but no way would I allow Jacob, the manic "teenager" do that. Hie has so much utter energy and burrows his claws under the bedclothes whenever he can. I found by accident that rattling something will deter him adding a loud NO . He is a big solid cat. Echo is very young and you are doing so well. I am glad you refuse to medicate. Yes she has never learned there are limits and boundaries. Jacob is learning slowly. That NO means NO ... Vital lessons that a normal early life would have taught her.. the place sounds ( and smells) like the place I got my two 12 year olds from. Stinking, with a couple of dead kittens still there. This was the SPCA rep for that county so I called them and strongly suggested they pay an unannounced visit urgently. Many folk knew the state of the place but no one had reported her. And I knew she was seeking a grant so advised they give it to her to enable her to move to better conditions . Which happened and I think she is OK now.

I totally agree. I won't give up until I know for a fact those animals have been checked out. I guarantee they should be removed from that situation just from the NO PETS ALLOWED sign at the front of the trailer park. I certainly know that animals have feelings and this is no way to live. It's wrong no matter how you look at it. It's not like they just found these animals and are looking to place them in loving homes. I questioned the lady about all the dogs she had in cages. I even asked her if they ever get outside to play and exercise. Of course she is going to say yes they get out but the smell of her place told me something completely different. I would much rather see a animal have a shot and go to forever sleep verses living a life sentence in a small cafe. It's like that animal is in jail doing time. There is nothing an animal could do to deserve that kind of a horrible life sentence.

Spray bottles (of water) are your friend. Just lightly spray her whenever shes harrassing the other cat, jumping on your back or doing other behaviors you don't want. We did that with our two very rowdy kittens. It' does not hurt them and only takes a few times to get the point across if you're consistent. Even now I keep my spray bottle handy for then they misbehave, and they know I'll use it! LOL

When my gang were kittens, a loud "Owww" kind of freaked them out. And it worked!

Been thinking back, Oh one point. It will take time, maybe months, for your older cat to get used to the little one. Please do not spray her. They need to work their relationship out themselves and not be punished for working on it. Using it for other things is fine., Trust me on this. I introduced two new rescues last summer and my resident two are still working pecking order etc out. It is also a territorial thing One of my Siamese boys used to nip my hand; I realised after a while that it was not aggression but friendship as he simply did not realise that i was not a cat with thick skin... I then used to pull my sleeve over my hand when I was with nim as he loved to mouth me. On eof my new cats plays bedmice by burrowing UNDER the blankets and attacking my toes and THAT is not being allowed. He gets bellowed at, But please allow the little one time to settle; a few days in a new setting away from her mother is too soon to expect too much

Usually I would agree with Marygold about letting them work out their relationships but not when it comes to senior animals. When you have senior cat or dog, forcing them to accept or tolerate the abuse (term used lightly) of an active and relentless kitten or puppy is only going to result in undo stress on the older animal. I too have had many old cats and would never allow a kitten to continually harrass it.

Cathy,

A week is not very long - she's still adjusting, and like cats who've come from other high-stress situations like some shelters it just takes time for them to relax andfor their true nature to come out.

Dont worry about in breeding or whatever - it just sounds like typical kitten behavior to me. Young animals simply dont understand about people trying to sleep and they dont know that they're hurting someone, esp if they were taken away early and didnt learn from sibs/mom how to inhibit their aggression in play situations. ... or in this situation which was probably quite chaotic and stressful.

I dont care for spray bottles - like you're going to have one at your finger tips at all times? Suppose you could get a holster for it, but as Cooper wrote a simple yell of OW accompoanied by shrugging her off will suffice. I had a cat who for whatever reason liked to take a flying leap and climb me like I was a tree. This was bad enough in winter, with layers of clothing on, but in summer - claws digging into bare skin - ouch! A couple of loud yells took care of it.

If you arent already doing so, Id still be keeping them separate and then switching their spaces periodically so they can start getting used to each other's presence and scent but without having to confront each other all the time. Putting up a screen door temporarily is a good idea too. Let your old guy set the pace for how quickly the process takes. As much as possible, keep up your routines with him and he should have the esteemed positions like sleeping with you at night or whatever your routines were before the kitten came.

I'm also a believer of the spray bottle. Whenever possible, try not to let them see you holding the bottle, so the cat/dog doesn't know where the water is coming from, and use it only when you see the start of negative behavior. One squirt is usually enough to direct their attention elsewhere, plus, they'll learn to relate it to the negative action they were about to take.

Current Resident brings up a good point. You may have introduced the kitten too suddenly to your senior cat.....especially if he's been the only cat in the house all these years. Start over with the introductions and give Max priority without her bothering him. "Keep them separate and switch their spaces periodically."

I live in a studio apartment. I don't have the luxury of doing that. It sounds like a good idea but it's not doable for the living room, dinning room and kitchen space I have. Echo let me sleep all night long last night. Pre the advice of ignoring her completely over the past 2 night's. Not one single pet, no eye contact absolutely nothing. She needs to know that night time is not for any attention. That is my sleep time. It feels like ignoring her over the past 2 nights paid off. She was really really playful this morning and Max even joined in to play with her for a few. I just think she needed a bit of time to adjust to her new surroundings. She is very content and I even noticed Max is so so much more relaxed today and content. I noticed that from the both of them soon as I walked in the door after work this evening. I am sure all will be fine. Its new for all of us and we just all adjust at our own speed. We all just have to respect that about one another. I have had kittens before, just not as wild as this little one is all. She will be just fine. Taking a little advice from here and there and trying different things. It's been so helpful. Thanks

By the way I did not introduce them suddenly. Max was never the only cat or animal in the home except for the past two weeks. I noticed he was depressed and it was completely obvious he did not like being alone while I was at work. That's why I made the choice to get Echo. We tried Max as the only animal and he was showing me signs that he was not happy by any means. He was pretty loud and pretty clear of his intentions.

I don't like the spray bottle idea either. I use it to repel dogs that come into the yard, would not use it on the cats. I think you are working it out very well.

For all the nay sayers, you'd be surprised at how effective a quick misting can be. Our little guy is named Naughty because he was into everything and now, he understands what he can and can't do without us ever having to raise our voice, which is key. He does not relate the mist to me, but to the bottle. He also no longer tries to dart out the door when it's open. We live on a busier road and I suspect it saved his life because he's the fastest kitty I've seen yet. No holster necessary, we had them on tables and kept a couple around the room so they were easy to grab.

Cathy, bravo for trying to work through it instead of giving up. A lot of people wouldn't have had the stamina.

Kittens and cats are only doing what is natural behavior for them. To teach them like their mama cat would is natural as well. To spray with water, or any other technique may work but a lot of us would rather be "naysayers". There are people who rationalize de-clawing. You can rationalize anything. If you are happy with what you do and your results, then good. I don't think anyones minds will be changed.

You can google or click below " Cat Daddy" Jackson Galaxy and a video Stop Spraying your cat with water...https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEV7sUQoJXEDkASXYnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTEyMzM3Z2VpBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDQjIyOTBfMQRzZWMDc2M-?p=Jackson+Galaxy+and+Spraying+With+Water&fr=ytff1-tyc&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-006#id=1&vid=4d9eab8829c7186c58b0d95c5a6bf629&action=view      

Cathy, sounds like you should be giving us advice - seriously, having two cats living happily together in a small space is not always easy to manage. Good work!

Yup, I agree, for every person who says yes, another will say nay, matter of opinion but with our kitties, I'll keep my bottles. :c)

Glad to read of s uch good progress. Time and patience work wonders. Somethiing living as remote as I do has taught me. Cats need to work out their own pecking order. Not a question of a kitten harassing an older cat. Not in human terms as we see it. here now I have 2 upstairs cats , the older ones, and the girl ALWAYS eats first. The same with the 2 downstairs. I might not see it as fair but that is what they have worked out between themselves. Never used a spray bottle and never see the need when a little patience works. But then I let the cats work these things out themselves and a loud NO works fine. Cats HATE water.