Our cat jumped over 6 foot containment for visual introductions

saharahoshi

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I took the advice of a bunch of people here and we used wireless shelling from home depot she create a containment barrier so that our new and resident kitties could see each other. We put a blanket for visual cover and aluminum foil to deter climbing but our boy used the door frame to shimmy up and the blanket for leverage.

We tried something similar to the the web page below and this forums guide on cat inteos but much higher How to Build a Free-Standing Cat, Dog, or Pet Gate Cheaply, Without Tools
At this point, I'm leaning towards stacking baby gates to cover the whole door frame or using tree bale to discourage climbing on our new kitties side. Any thoughts?
 

tabbytom

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At this point, I'm leaning towards stacking baby gates to cover the whole door frame or using tree bale to discourage climbing on our new kitties side. Any thoughts?
You may want to try this way as one of our member Jcatbird Jcatbird used this to separate the cats and so that they can see each other. This is Post #7820 from her personal thread :- page-391
 
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Jcatbird

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saharahoshi saharahoshi Please do take a look by clicking on the link that tabbytom tabbytom posted above. The lattice I used was easy to install and panels could also be hung up just using hooks. They are working very well here and are so much easier than stacking the baby gates as I did before. If you have questions, I will try to answer them. The panels are lightweight and you can buy one for about the price of a good baby gate. They also won’t stop you from closing the door if you want to do so. There are more pictures and descriptions on the link in the previous post. Oh yes, these are easy to wipe clean too since they are plastic but strong enough to keep the cats in.
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saharahoshi

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So the hugely sucky thing is our landlord won't let us attach anything that's not permanent to the walls, think command hooks, replacing the door with a screen door, like we haven't even hung up ARTWORK in our place. The reason we rent it is it's a good size apartment with in-unit wash that allows our kitties.

We also bought a cat enclosure, pic below but our senior cat is freaked out by it. If you've read previous posts, we've had to be extremely careful because JB (our 1 year old) escaped the room TWICE during week 3 of the intro process with a closed door (we suck) and ran at our female wanting to play, she was not having it, fur flew and sweat so yeah, two full on fight (no one was injured thank God). A cat behaviorist who is also a licensed vet said we could salvage the relationship.

We are on month 2 of introductions and right now we are determined NOT to rush it, we know it's a long process, we decided to do the visual step based on the advice of some great people/experts here who said "exposure therapy" might help.

Problem is , we're having trouble right now because the male cat (+1 year old) is now started to get play and redirected aggression (I don't blame him, it sucks! We have Feliway diffusers, rescue remedy, Da Bird and a number of other toys with scheduled play sessions and if he gets redirected aggression we give him chill time, if he gets play aggression we either a) ignore him or b) give him a kick stick.

I've also read Cat vs. Cat and the Jackson Galaxy book as well as the intro guide on this forum multiple times.

Despite the crazy amount of playtime, catification, and letting him roam the house while our senior female hangs out in another room on her favorite laptop bag. The kitty base camp literally looks like a PetSmart with all the stuff we have.

Any ideas, should we try the enclosure and maybe have our senior kitty get used to it? I'm really at a loss with the restrictions on our lease....

Cat tax also included, black kitty is Ruth Bader Ginspurrg and the other one is Jellybean (his name was Hades at the shelter.
 

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FeebysOwner

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Hi. I would NOT try to place a senior cat in an enclosure and expect them to like it - especially with a kitten running around wildly. Your senior cat should not be confined like that, and she will end up feeling very vulnerable/insecure.

Did you make your current containment barrier tall enough that it covers the entire door opening? If not, that would be the first step to correct your current issue. You could help keep the barrier in place with tension rods placed on one or both sides of the barrier for stability. And, then I would also hang all kinds of noisy bells/etc. from the top of the barrier to deter your cat from trying to climb it without making a whole lot of racket. Those hanging noise makers could be tied together with something as simple as a shoestring in order to prevent making a bunch of noise when you go to move the barrier out of the way for access.

Plexiglass panels, cut to size, could be affixed to the shelving with zip ties as well to help minimize exposure between the two cats - and easily removed - and re-attached with new zip ties as needed.
 
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saharahoshi

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Thank you for response, to clarify the younger cat would go in the enclosure but I think the idea of bells as a deterrent is great!
 

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The enclosures have worked great for me with many cats. I cover them so part is private. I also put a carrier inside with the door , either removed or blocked open to be used as a cat cave. Love them! They are a bridge for introductions.
The lattice might be light enough to put up with the large type Command Strips. If you could just staple a few Velcro straps, that might work too. Be creative. Lol The nice thing about the lattice is that it can go to the top of doorways. Like an extra door, over the door.
If you hang anything with cords or stings as a deterrent, be very careful that no cat can get hung up in it. Cats can get themselves hung in the cords for window blinds of anything they want to investigate or plunder through. If the kitten is put behind lattice, make sure he can’t fit between the gaps. Some simple screen on the inside should stop that. Hardware cloth cannot be clawed through.
 
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saharahoshi

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We went to my mother in laws yesterday (we have been in quarantine since march) and came bak around dinner time. Today our boy is now growling at the door and hiding. Hes not aggressive towards us but won't come into the common space? Should I take a step back with scent swapping, follow the process for redirected aggression or try exposure therapy again?
 

Jcatbird

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It seems it’s often three steps forward and two back. Just give him time to understand that you are not any different just because you left and then returned. You also returned with new scents. He may have gotten nervous that you were missing. As you mentioned, you have been in quarantine. Cats don’t really trust change. New scents are also something to be investigated slowly. I would let him do whatever he feels comfortable doing right now. Maybe you could get a shower and change into clothes that he knows or that carry the scent of home and then go about your regular routine with him unless he remains frightened. I am guessing he will settle back down once he recognizes everything is still as it was before you left the house. If he remains really upset or it escalates, then think about going back a step. Just give him calm and normal for the moment to reassure him.
 
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