Older cat hates kittens..

Question
We have an 18 year old cat that we've had since I was a
child. She's probably the coolest cat on the planet.. except
when it comes to interacting with other cats. A little
background on Midnight: She's a mostly indoor cat, but we do
let her go outside whenever she wants, she's spoiled rotten
and will meow for hours to get what she wants, always eating
soft food, sits on the kitchen table, has her own chair etc
etc. Now, on to the question. We have two new kittens, Storm
and Osiris, who are also equally awesome, but the problem is
Midnight literally hates them.. she won't let them anywhere
near her, she hisses, growls, swats what have you. Is there
any way to coax her into getting along with them?

Answer
Aaron,

Your cat is 88 years old in human years and at that age they do not handle change well. The stress of the kittens could cause health and emotional problems, and a permanent personality change.

You can't force her to get along with them. They will probably never be friends and the best you can hope for is acceptance. I had one cat that hated kittens and moved to a neighbor's house for 6 months until the kittens were adults, then moved back!

Hisses, growls, and swats are kitty communication and she is telling them to back off, leave her alone, and that she is boss there.

Here are some good links for more information on introductions and older cats: (copy and paste or type the whole links into your address bar)

Introducing cats to older cats:
http://www.messybeast.com/Oldcat.htm#addition
http://www.understandinganimals.com/article/7
http://www.messybeast.com/first-impressions.htm

Being prepared and knowledgeable about elderly cats will make things easier for the cat and for you. I am including some very good links about elderly cats:
(Copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar)

http://www.sniksnak.com/resources/geriatric.html

http://www.messybeast.com/towards-end.htm

http://www.2ndchance.info/oldcat.htm

Tabbi