returning cat not recognized

[spike&tommy]

We have 2 brothers who have always been together. Last night tommy got out (they're indoor cats) and we didn't find him until the next morning. He came in on his own, but his brother hissed, spit + chased tommy until we put the other one (spike) in another room. They can see each other thru the window and spike continues to growl and hiss at tommy and tommy just sits there all confused.
How do we get them back together on friendly terms??

 

[mrblanche]

Once they smell like each other again.

 

[spike&tommy]

Thx....but that's what they were doing when spike started attacking.....I'd love to put them together but tommy is generally traumatised after his night on the town and spike is spitting venom at him.

 

[howtoholdacat]

How long has it been since Tommy came back? It may take a day or two. The same thing will happen if you take one but not both to the vet. The returning cat smells different. We usually remember that dog's have excellent senses of smell but cats do too. It can affect them profoundly.

 

[spike&tommy]

Thx.....tommy was away for 12 hours, most of which we now know was spent under the deck - he's filthy but ok. His brother keeps hissing at him whenever we try to put them together. I think we're going to try again and see what happensn and be prepared to break up a fight.

 

[katachtig]

I would recommend you read this article on introducing cats. Treat your wayward boy as a new cat coming into the household and start introductions over.

 

[goldenkitty45]

Because the cat has "outside smells" on him - he's a stranger to his brother. The quickest way to get back to normal is to sprinkle both with cornstarch baby powder in the coats and rub it in so they smell the same. They will settle down in a day or two.