brothers fighting after our vacation

It's been a couple weeks since our vacation, and Freddie and
Bigg have been acting odd. They fight, especailly when we are not home - clumps and clumps of fur up and down our hallway yesterday
(and we were only gone for about 3 hours.
Freddie and Bigg are brothers and we have had them for almost
2 years. They are 2 1/2. Freddie used to be the cuddle-y one, and now he hardly comes by me anymore. Bigg is somewhat cuddle-y and he will come to me, but, not lay on my lap anymore. My husband got them to be outdoor cats, adn I convinced him to keep them in, but, we have not had either one spayed or declawed.
They don't eat together, sleep together, or even play together anymore. It's as if one of them sees you pet the other one, and the other one just walks by. I am heart-broken, and even my two boys hate it when they fight. We used to find them cuddled up against each other n my boys' beds, and they were so cute.
We went on vacation for 3 days, came home for 3 days, and left again for 3 days. They were bad when we got home the first time, and now they are worse. Any suggestions??????

Your kitties are very stressed out by your leaving. Did you have someone come in and play with them while you were away?

I would read the article about introdusing cats and let them start over.

I would also get them fixed as soon as possible and also get them checked for illness.

They are not fixed ??? That what I think the problem is , they get male agression and teritoryal (sp) I would fix them ASAP .

Thanks ladies for all your ideas. I did have a neighbor boy who said he would come in and play with my babies, and didn't do it. Usually we can leave them for a couple days, but, maybe 3 was 1 too many.
Do you really think spaying them will make a huge difference? Will vets still do it when they are 2 1/2?

Yes the vets will do it @ this age . And yes you will notice how they will come down a lot . You also will enjoy them more being more lovely

yes neutering will help, and I do ask you to not get them declawed. Some vets offer this along with a spay/neuter, and it really is a bad idea for the cats. This board can help you with behavior issues if your cats have their claws, but once those claws/toes are removed, sometimes the behavior issues escalate and there isn't much to do about it.

I would wonder if they injured themselves or stressed themselves out while you were gone, because cats love routine. Now every
time you leave they are thinking you will not be back, and the stress grows. It might be a wise idea to take them into the vet for a checkup first before you get them neutered just to be safe.