Advice Needed; territorial cat has driven out his brother

ChairmanMeowandBiscuit

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I have 2 brother cats and have had them since they were 3 months old. 2 months ago, one of the cats, Chairman Meow just disappeared. He came back a few weeks later and then just disappeared again for a couple of weeks. Since then he tends to come back to my house around 4pm every day through the front window and then the cat flap in the back if I am not around to let him in (I think although I cant be sure as I am not home).

I managed to get a 'do not feed me' collar on him and he was back 24 hours later - then back outside again.

I managed to get a GPS on him and discovered that he was 3 gardens over for most of the time. I went round to the house who's garden backed on to mine and lo and behold Chairman appears from around the back in response to my voice. The woman whose house it was, swore blind she wasn't feeding him and said he wasn't in the house over night. I don't believe her but there isn't much else I can do.

Two days later, I walk round to the road and and my cat comes running and then follows me home around the block and into my house where he stayed for hours and had a cuddle.

Yesterday he came in and his collar and GPS had been removed.

My other cat, Biscuit has started to get very territorial - he hisses at Chairman and wont let him eat his food whenever he shows up. Whenever i am there, I shoo him away and make sure Chairman has space to eat and chill out but Biscuit is very territorial over the flat and me. I think he is the reason why Chairman won't come home. Yet last week, I came back on a Monday night and the two brothers had managed to catch and kill a pigeon, so they are collaborating on some level.

I have put Felix Friends in the main room for the past month to see if that could help.

I am besides myself, the vet says I am doing every thing right but I don't know how to enable Chairman to come home and sleep overnight - he used to sleep in the spare room which he had all to himself and this hasn't changed in the way it laid out or smell. The home environment is calm and quiet.

Please - is there any advice out there?
 

FeebysOwner

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I would say you likely have a case of non-recognition aggression going on. Cats who go places and pick up 'strange' smells can cause other cats to not recognize them. Some cats are impacted by this more than others. Given that there also appears to be some 'interference' from a neighbor - with the collar being removed, is it possible to keep both cats inside in separate locations for the moment and begin an introduction process as if they don't really 'know' each other?

However, you do have to realize that cats that roam will typically find a way to 'lose' their collars - or, worse get strangled on something if they are not break-away ones.

If you have the ability to do so, once you have re-introduced them to each other, you could consider building or buying a catio/cat enclosure so that they have outdoor time, but can't roam out of your yard.

Here are some articles that might help on each of the topics above:
How To Deal With Non-recognition Aggression In Cats – TheCatSite Articles
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles
All About Catios & Cat Enclosures - Catio Spaces
 

Jcatbird

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A microchip will help to establish his home if needed and it will go unseen by others unless someone checks for it. The advice by FeebysOwner FeebysOwner is excellent. A catio and keeping both cats bonded should solve things. Wandering can cause lots of issues. Unless you wish to allow the neighbor to adopt Chairman or become a part of the family by babysitting both cats so they carry the same scents, lol you need to work this out as soon as possible. There are some tricks to help reintroduce the brothers. Scent swapping is often helpful. Brushing them both with the same brush can be one way to scent swap. Since they hunted together, perhaps playtime together using a wand toy with you? Don’t give up, there are ways to work through this.
 
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