Cat maternal instinct.

Question
I have a cat, and an thinking about getting a kitten. My cat doesn't get along well with other cats. Will her maternal instinct kick in, and she will try to mother the kitten? or will she hate the new arrival like she does all other cats?

Answer
Jesse,

Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing ahead of time.  Most adult cats are more tolerant of kittens than other adult cats, so you may be OK if they are introduced correctly, although, there are no guarantees.

Here is a technique we have used and had our pet buyers use for introducing a kitten into a household with already established pets:
 

Start out your new kitten in one room with a litter pan and water dish. Ideally, the one room should be a bedroom with yourself or another human resident. This accomplishes a couple of things. Your new kitten will not be overwhelmed by its new surroundings and get "lost", and thusly will have no problem finding the litter pan (often kittens have been confined and are somewhat daunted by wide open spaces!). You will feed the new kitten in this room and keep the established cat out. It allows the new kitten to bond with you or another human being and also build up some self assurance in its new surroundings since it will not have to compete for food or
attention right away. Finally, it allows the new kitten and the established cat to sniff each other under the door and get familiar with each others' scents.

After 5-7 days of being in its one room, it is time to let them meet each other. Be prepared for some posturing, some spitting and hissing, and the like. IGNORE IT! After a while, they should begin chasing each other about and still have the occasional hiss or spit as they get accustomed to each other. Cats tend to make a whole lot of noise and even loosen up some fur. Rarely will two cats hurt each other.

Once they are introduced, there are a couple of things you must remember. Do not separate them again, they will get along! Do not interfere in their "discussions" as they need to sort it out amongst themselves!

It does not hurt to give the established cat treats and extra attention after the new kitten is introduced (yes, cats do get jealous!).

A couple of things you may have to do are to feed them on separate dishes. Provide more than one litter pan in different areas of the household (as cats can be very territorial about litter pans).

All, in all, this method seems to have had great success in the past and makes for a fairly smooth introduction. Please remember that they may make up immediately, or it may take a few weeks.

Good luck and best regards... Norm.