Worried older cat will never accept new kitten

[Geminijust]

Long story short, we had two 7 year old cats (brother & sister) who adored each other. Sadly, the girl died few months ago. We weren't going to replace her but her brother seemed so sad and lonely, we got a female kitten two weeks ago.

We've followed all the Jackson Galaxy advice re giving their own "base camps", introducing them slowly etc. While older cat hasn't been aggressive which was what we were worried about, he actually seems scared of her! He spends most of his time outside only coming in for meals and as soon as he sees her, will turn tail and run out. Conscious that he may feel pushed out or replaced, we've been giving him lots of attention and treats but he just seems so sad. Kitten seems to want to be friends but, being a kitten, is pretty lively! I'm so worried our lovely older cat will leave home 😪

Can anyone give any advice or let me know their experience? Does it get better?

Mine didn't, but they were bonded siblings.
We had to re-home the kitten we adopted.
We have had updates - the adult female already in the home adores him. She grooms him. He is having a better life than he could have had with us.
The worst 'offender' was my girl. I think my boy would have accepted him.
My son has 2 - the original female never accepted her 'brother' - he now has to schedule separate fuss time.
It just goes to show that they are all individual; all unpredictable.

I think the most you can expect, is tolerance. I wanted more than that, for the kitten I rescued, so had to give him up 😭

Could you try to adopt an older cat?
Kittens are nuts!

Unfortunately there's no guarantee it will get better, it's mostly (imo) down to luck.

Saying that, two weeks is very early days still so I would just keep going for now.

Yep, been here... have a thread about it! 9 months on we have tolerance but it's still grudging. One cat still swears (hisses!) at the now 1-year-old, the other growls at him. The kitten is not as boisterous as he was but we still have to make sure that playtime is not going to cause issues (like a fight over Da Bird). I'd plug in a feliway and dig in for the long run.Good luck!

Oh god, Da Bird.

I fostered a bonded pair of female kittens who adored each other & did everything together. The only time I saw any hint of genuine ructions was when I got Da Bird out for them.

It went straight back in the cupboard & now I only get it out for solo cats.

My older cat loathed kitten on sight - we ended up having to separate the kitten as older seemed to want to murder her.

It did eventually get better, slowly, but they were only ever friends on the way to the vet, and, if another cat came into the garden.

Thanks I know it's early days & will persevere. They had an encounter yesterday with older cat hissing at little one and he's stayed out since 😔

Try playing with kitten until it's tired out and ready for a sleep, then encourage older cat into the room with food treats. Get big cat used to thinking kitten presence = good things like Dreamies.

When kitten is a bit bigger try playing with them together (one person per cat with some space in between) so they get used to having fun in same room. Even an older cat can enjoy some playtime.

Make sure big cat has some places to go in the sitting room or main living area away from kitten but with door shut so he can't just run away all the time. Shelves or an high cat tree would work. This is so again they get used to sharing space without necessarily interacting.

Two weeks isn't long so keep trying slowly.