We have two cats who are the same age, from the same father but different mothers. Sam is a Russian Blue and Max is a chocolate-point Siamese. They are totally different characters but typical for their respective breeds, despite their mixed genes. They are now eight years old and they usually get on very well together and usually sleep together at night. They both come in voluntarily every evening and never stay out at night.
However, Max disappeared at the start of summer every year for the first 3 years of his life and I had to go searching for him. Each time, he was in the same area about a mile away from home and it took 3 days to find him.
He hasn't done this for the last 4 years so we thought it was out of his system. Unfortunately not! Last week, he suddenly went missing on Sunday afternoon and the search started immediately but without success. The next day, I put notices all around the area and went out calling him several times each day. Meanwhile, Sam was wailing and would not go away from the house.
Thursday morning, the phone rang at 8am and a lady asked if I had lost a cat called Max. He was in her garden and she had read his medallion. She said he seemed to be injured as he was laying down, talking a lot but not walking. He was in the same general area where he had previously gone missing so I dashed over to collect him. He was so excited to see me and there was nothing wrong with him physically. I think he had been putting on an act to get the finder's attention.
Each time he has done this, on returning home, his half-brother has chastised him severely and that behaviour from Sam has got worse. This time he is spitting fire and brimstone, still five days later. Max is bewildered. He can't understand why Sam is so nasty to him.
It's an interesting bit of cat psychology and seeing Sam's distress turn to anger is very human in a way.
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Sam is a very nervous highly-strung cat and is very quick to spit or scratch if he's frightened. Max is as placid as could be. I've never heard him spit or known him to be agressive in any way. He's the sort of cat with whom you can have a conversation and he has a very cute way of gently tapping me on the side of my face if he has something to communicate. Max loves children and we suspect that his wandering is due to him following a family out walking in our neighbourhood.
My concern is to know if, this time Max has gone too far for Sam. Will they ever get back together?

It's a difficult situation but the cats will probably know whats best for them. Try seperating them for an hour or so but so they can still hear each other so its like the old days. You could try playing with them together with a teaser toy but its like introducing a new cat of the same sex into your home. they see it as bad and because they are related, Sam could see Max as an enemy wanting to take over his home. it is Sam's home now as hes probably forgotten Max was there at all. Are they both neutered? that could make a difference. Just give it time to settle down.

__________________
"No matter what I've done wrong...

...it's the humans fault!"

2 possibles - has he been seen by a vet? cats can be funny to ill cats

2nd - change of smell from being somewhere new

may just be a sorting the order out again - you could try feliway to help, but i'd get the wonderer checked to be sure first.

They are both neutered so that doesn't come into the equation and I think cats have longer memories than that. Sam was distressed about Max's absence right up to the time he came home so I'm inclined to think he's just expressing his annoyance at the stress Max caused him. I hope they will just settle down in time.

I doubt that he saw a vet in those 4 days but Sam is a sniffer. Every time I stroke him, he has to sniff my hand and he did give Max a good sniffing when he first arrived home last Thursday. Then he immediately hissed and wacked Max on the head. Poor old Max is bewildered and has several times tried to approach Sam only to get rejected.
We live in Belgium and I have not seen Fellway here. I'll ask at the pet shop.

that may mean he needs a vet - a sniffy cat notices things!
minor stuff like uti ( urine infection) may cause smell change - especially if sam always was 'whatever' before when he came baack

your vet may sell feliway - its a pheromone stress reducer - cheaper on ebay though!

You could try sprinkling a litle baby talc in their coats (especially around the back end) rub it in and make sure you brush it all out. They should smell the same to each other then so it may help.

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Kaz

For kittens, joy is for the asking and smiles are for the giving

Well, it's a week today since Max came home and, although Sam's hissing and aggression has not completely stopped, it has subsided.
Max is very stoical and seems determined to not only stand his ground but also to go to Sam, even when Sam is hissing. He's very persistent and I think he will win back Sam's friendship all on his own.
We are giving them their food side by side and we have been throwing their toys so that they both run for them together. For the most part, it seems that the hostility is gradually disappearing.

Well, it looks like I spoke too soon. Sam is still hissing at Max at every opportunity. He really is behaving as if he wishes Max had not been found. However, during the four days Max was away, he was wailing constantly.
It is heart-rending to have this behaviour going on all the time and, despite having had cats for fifty years, we are at a loss to know how to deal with it.
We did get some Feliway spray (as recommended earlier) and have sprayed the bed where they normally sleep together, wrapping their paws round each other. Max obviously likes it as he licks the bed before settling down. However, Sam won't go near the bed.
I have sprayed cushions they normally sit on together but no, Sam sits anywhere else and hisses at Max from a distance. A few times he has gone over to Max, sniffed him and then hissed and wacked him.
Sam has always had a tendency to be a loner and to spend most of his time in neighbouring gardens, whereas Max is a stay-at-home cat - except for these rare disappearances when he seems to follow people and gets himself lost.
Max is evidently, unable to comprehend why his beloved brother is behaving so badly towards him and I'm worried that he is going into a depression.
It would be so nice to be able to consult an expert in cat behaviour.

I'm following this thread with interest as I've just brought my 'stay at home' cat (Hendrix) back after a couple of days at the vets due to a blocked urinary tract. Exactly the same situation, they normal 'kiss and cuddle' all the time, but the cat that was at home (Marley) is seething mad, grumbling and hissing all the time, which is something he's never done. Hendrix is crawling around bewildered at why he's been treat like this. I wish there was something I could do, I feel so helpless