Reintroducing cats

[kikoandgus]

Hi! A few of you have been listening to my story for a few months. My boys are both finally neutered! The eldest Gus has been home with me and Kiko has been with my boyfriend. They’ve been separated for 10 days and probably will be for two more.

Any advice on reintroducing them?? I have a studio apartment and small bathroom. However I do have a huge cage in here now for when I was working and didn’t want Gus to jump, etc. Any advice I would love! Thank you guys

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. It may not be necessary to do a full-scale introduction. You could scent swap and see if that is enough - under heavy supervision. If there is an unfavorable reaction, then Kiko would need to be treated as the new cat, since Gus has been with you the whole time. You can adapt a plan from the TCS article on introductions (see link below). I personally am not an advocate of using cages for introductions, but you will have to do what you can do in the space you are working with.

There are also DIY blockades that can be made to expand the length/width of a room, easy to open/close for you to move between, so no one cat has to spend their time confined to a bathroom or cage. I have also included a pic of one example. This example is essentially made from home improvement store shelving that is set on its side and affixed with zip ties to make an 'accordion' door. Most stores will cut the shelving to size, depending on how 'tall' you want it to be. If need be, the blockade can be covered with sheets if there is time needed where they can't see each other. I hope that is not necessary in your case!
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

 

[kikoandgus]

Thank you so much for the feedback I genuinely appreciate it! Unfortunately with my set up that’s not possible. Kiko is an instigator and hurts Gus bad, so that’s why I am reintroducing and unfortunately have to try the cage due to the circumstances.