Hi y'all. I have a 2021 Outlander Sport ES with 2.0L engine and CVT. Came out of a hotel, turned the key, and the car made a godawful noise. Looked underneath and found some bastards had cut out the catalytic converter. With both O2 sensors, leaving the wires dangling down. I found a replacement for the cat converter. Found a replacement for the rear O2 sensor. But no replacement for the front O2 sensor. Dealer says they're out of stock, there isn't one in country, and they don't expect them to come in for 6 months. Only NTK makes an aftermarket direct fit replacement and they're out of stock also. And they cost a whopping $630.

The pigtail has five wires (white, black, yellow, gray, and blue) going to a 6 terminal male connector. There also appears to be some sort of chip plugged into the connector.

Questions:
(1) Can I splice another brand of 5 wire 02 sensor into the existing pigtail?
(2) I'm told the downstream O2 sensor is the same as the upstream except a longer cable and different cable. Is this true? Can I splice a downstream sensor onto the upstream pigtail?
(3) There seem to be California O2 sensors available. What would happen if I spliced one of those in?
(4) Can I use an 02 sensor from a diffferent model of Mitusubishi?

Thanks in advance for any help I can get.
John