Will they always fight???

I am hoping someone out there can help me. I adopted two male cats almost 4 years ago, they are from the same litter and they have both been neutered. Immediately you could tell that one had a bit of anxiety (hiding under the bed for hours), but was extremely loving to his brother and myself when he felt comfortable coming out. For the first 2 years both cats would sleep curled up together in my bed. Over time...they found independence from one another.

Unfortunately three weeks ago I had to make an abrupt trip out of state as my mother was hospitalized, I was gone for 7 days, home for 2 and gone again for 4. When I returned home, I noticed that Cody, the cat with some anxiety had scratches on his nose and my roommate mentioned that they had been fighting a bit..but while we were sitting there speaking about it Cody was licking his brother Riley. So I thought everything was ok....I was unfortunately wrong. That was Sunday...and by Tuesday they could not be in the same room with one another and have been separated since (it has been a little over a week).

I have taken them both to the vet...and he states that this is not unusual in cats. Once they reach their social maturity they test boundaries. I can tell that the issue certainly lies with Cody as he consistently hisses at Riley...and 95% of the time Riley walks away. Cody is now taking tranquilizers, but there has been no change yet.

I was wondering if anyone else has gone through something like this..and any advice they may have for me. They donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have to be best friends, but I would really like them to be able to cohabitate. My house is not big enough for them to remain separate and any alternative thoroughly upsets me..these cats are my family.

My apologies for the long post..and advance thanks for any help!

Humm I am far from an expert but try some feliway spray or diffuser... it may help destress the boys ... as for hissing my oldest hiss at everyone it is a leave me alone...

You didn't say if you life alone or with someone. If you're alone, I'm thinking your being gone is the reason for the change in behavior. Any change in a cat's routine or environment is stressful, and particularly the absence of its usual human caretaker(s). If this is the case, things should settle down and return to normal after a time.

She mentioned she had a roommate and her roomate had told her the cats had been fighting quite a bit....my cats playfight too alot...when we got Ash, our newest addition to the family, Fluffy had major issues with him..she plays with him now, but she does not play nice...I saw a scratch on Ash's nose the other day, thinking it could have been Fluff that did it....Ash is always hollering out like she is really hurting him, and I will clap my hands to get their attention so it will stop....Rocky plays with Ash, but he plays nicely, and Ash never hollers out when they play together......I don't have any answers for you, but I thought my story would help a little bit...I hope they settle down soon...

Try out Feliway plug ins, they work well.