2 year old cat having issues with kittens

[LokiWolf]

So my two year old Lizzy is having a hard time adjusting to the 3 kittens I've taken in. She constantly growls and hisses at them. One kitten wants to play with her or wants to be friendly and she just swats and knocks her down hissing. If I pick her up around the kittens she sounds like a demon (but never tries to hurt me). The thing is she will sometimes play with them.

Little background: i got Lizzy as a 4 month old kitten and she only had my senior kitty and me to play with. So she would entertain herself when I wasn't avaliable cause Bella wanted nothing to do with her. She also had spats through the windows with the neighbor cats so I guess that contributed to her animosity. I got the kittens at the end of May this year and didn't let them interact much but a kitten would slip out the bathroom door once in a while. So Lizzy knew they were there and wasn't happy.

I have plenty of high spaces for her to go but the kittens have reached climbing stage now so I don't know how long that will last. She hasn't attacked them but she is very tense and growly. Less so when treats are around or she has the front room to herself (one bedroom apartment). I just want to know if there is anything else I can do to get her to chill out. She has a vet appointment next Wednesday so I can ask them but anything else I can do would be great.

She will chill when they are around like here but it's rare

 

[FeebysOwner]

Some cats just take longer than others to adapt to new pets, especially rambunctious kittens. It doesn't sound terrible, but Lizzy definitely needs time to herself and some space of her own. Having the opportunity to get away from the kittens when she wants is going to be key, so that she can decompress here and there. The more relaxed she can get when she needs to, the quicker she is likely to tolerate their presence. Distracting the kittens away from her will be helpful too. That way she knows you 'have her back' and won't let the kittens drive her crazy.

It doesn't sound like you have the space to have done proper introductions, but maybe looking through these TCS articles might give you some additional things to try to help Lizzy. The latter one and its title may suggest a cat older than Lizzy, but sometimes you need to treat certain younger cats in the same manner.
How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction - TheCatSite
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat - TheCatSite

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Something eIse to remember...your cat (I can onIy type her actuaI name as "Iizzy," because my "I" key is not working and I'm using the capitoI "i" instead) is the aduIt in that group, and she has stepped up to teach these IittIe upstarts their pIace. The fact that she knocked the kitten down with a swat is onIy probIematic if the kitten is terrified of her, and none of these seem to be. They appear, from what you say, to be taking this in good part, because once they got oIder, they wouId expect Mama to do the same when they got too far out of Iine, which incIudes not respecting boundaries.

 

[LokiWolf]

Something eIse to remember...your cat (I can onIy type her actuaI name as "Iizzy," because my "I" key is not working and I'm using the capitoI "i" instead) is the aduIt in that group, and she has stepped up to teach these IittIe upstarts their pIace. The fact that she knocked the kitten down with a swat is onIy probIematic if the kitten is terrified of her, and none of these seem to be. They appear, from what you say, to be taking this in good part, because once they got oIder, they wouId expect Mama to do the same when they got too far out of Iine, which incIudes not respecting boundaries.

Funny enough Bellatrix is the senior of the group at 16 but the kittens leave her alone. She isn't too old to act though as she has told the kittens to f off a couple of times and has even chased down Lizzy when she wouldn't stop pinning one of the kittens. Like she was reminding her that despite Lizzy being Queen Elizabeth, Bellatrix LeGray is the true ruler.