New Kitten Harassing Resident Cat

[Frank123]

I've been a long time owner of cats for nearly my entire life. However, all my cats were solitary. It's only been the past few weeks that I've had my first experience with owning more than one cat.
My resident cat Cali a two year old spayed female has been my only cat since late August 2017.
About 3 weeks ago I adopted Oliver, now around 15 weeks old, a neutered male.
When Oliver was brought home he was isolated in a separate room.
As recommended, I did a gradual introduction. I started with scent swapping by rubbing Oliver with a towel and letting Cali get a whiff of it. I also brought Cali outside of the room where Oliver was kept to let her know there was another cat on the other side. Cali didn't have any visible reaction to this.
After a few days, I installed a stack of baby gates in the doorway to Oliver's room. Cali's first reaction upon seeing Oliver was to run away. The second time they saw each other, Cali's reaction this time was to hiss at Oliver. Oliver, on the other hand doesn't seem to show any fear towards Cali. He would run up to the gate as soon as Cali approached it. After a couple of days, the hissing (and occasional growling) from Cali subsided and they would just swat each other through the gate.
A few days later, I decided to allow a face to face meeting. The first few days there was hissing and growling from Cali but no aggression towards Oliver. Just the past few days, Cali for the most part has stopped her hissing and growling. I think at this point it's fair to say that Cali, for the most part "tolerates" Oliver's presence.
Okay, so here is where the problem comes in. Oliver, as one can imagine, being a kitten is very rambunctious and a bundle of energy. To him anything and everything, inanimate or living is a play thing. Since two or three days ago, he has been chasing after and jumping at Cali. Cali does not at all seem please with this and will respond aggressively with hissing, growling, and swatting. Fortunately, there hasn't been any injuries to Oliver.
Now I know this aggression is Cali's way of saying "back off kid," but so far Oliver isn't getting the message. Is it just a matter of time before Oliver gets the hint or is there something I could be doing differently.
As far as Cali is concerned, there doesn't seem to be any behavior changes in her since she met Oliver. She hasn't been hiding, eating and litter habits same as usual, and she still shows the same affection towards me.
Sorry for the long thread, but I figured it was necessary to provide as much info as possible.

 

[ArtNJ]

Its a totally normal kind of situation, happens all the time. That said, younger resident cats usually do better, and it is a little unusual for a 2 year old to not adapt to a kitten. That just means there is still lots of hope though! Just let them be. She won't hurt the kitten, the swipes are just her way of saying back off. Nothing you can really do to help, although some folks might have some recommendations around the edges.

 

[FeebysOwner]

It's not been a very long time, and so they seem to have adjusted pretty well. I would be inclined to keep them separated whenever you are not there - just in case Cali decides to really get angrier with Oliver and possibly hurt him if you can't intervene.

Just watch them, and if Oliver doesn't get the message soon, and/or Cali's demeanor/behavior changes, I would start picking Oliver up and saying a firm "no", then place him in a short time-out. That will let Cali know that you are standing up for her, and it will help move along the lesson Oliver needs to learn about boundaries.

 

[Frank123]

It's not been a very long time, and so they seem to have adjusted pretty well. I would be inclined to keep them separated whenever you are not there - just in case Cali decides to really get angrier with Oliver and possibly hurt him if you can't intervene.

Thanks. I should have mentioned that they are only allowed together under my supervision.

 

[catlover73]

Are you doing any play time with Oliver alone? This would help get some of his energy out so he spends less time chasing Cali. Years ago I adopted a 6 week old kitten into a household with 2 bonded brothers that were around 7 years old. They had lived with other cats before without any issues. Starbuck the kitten was very under socialized so in addition to having a lot of energy she had no concept of kitty communication. We set aside time every day to do one on one play time with Starbuck to give the adult cats a break from her. One of my adult cats did teach her manners and boundaries over time. The other cat avoided her until his brother taught her manners. I used a lot of wand toys to wear Starbuck out. The biggest issue I had was she thought biting my adults was an acceptable way to ask for play time. She did learn other wise quickly.

Hopefully over time Cali will teach Oliver boundaries and manners just like Tegato did with Starbuck. Warning this can be a very noisy process. Do not be surprised if Oliver protests. Starbuck would scream her head off when Tegato told her "no" by pinning her to the ground with his paw. He was not hurting her at all and was actually teaching her to stop communicating by biting him.