Hello all :) Sorry if the title was confusing. Basically, I'm taking in my childhood cat (Gus) for my parents. They aren't able to properly care for him anymore, so I've volunteered to take him, which should be an okay transition for him since we were best friends while I grew up. And see, Gus is kind of a grump. He is a big, fat, old man cat who is, at this point, pretty used to being left alone. He is used to some excitement (my parents always had lots of animals) but he was also always able to get away and hide somewhere like a basement.
Now, moving to my apartment will be quite the transition for him. It's pretty far away (3.5 hours) and I have an adorable, barely-not-a-kitten but still hyper/active af cat named Jolene. While I am definitely going to keep them separated for the first couple of days (I'm thinking I'll put Gus in the bathroom bc the door gap is large enough where they could smell one another/slightly interact, but not hurt each other), Gus won't have a place to go hide once the bathroom barrier gets officially broken. Also, in general, I'm worried about how to actually introduce them.
All the info online is for introducing a new kitten to an older, established housecat. How will the dynamics be effected when it's the other way around? Will there be more of a kitty power struggle? How can I avoid stressing them out, as best as possible? What do I do if they hate each other? How can I keep my Jolene from getting jealous?
Bonus Q: I've been thinking about getting Gus groomed before introducing them (parents haven't exactly taken proper care of his coat) but is there any chance that removing/ diminishing his scent could be detrimental to their introduction in any way?
Any advice at all would be appreciated, and thank you so much in advance! :)
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/mrgdzq/how_should_i_introduce_my_new_older_cat_to_my_old/
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