Cat keeps wandering back to old home!

[Thunderkit]

Hello,
We moved house 6 weeks ago. In that time, one of my cats went off for 24 hours but is now fine, but his brother wandered off for a week and ended up back at our old house a few streets away. He came back, went out after a couple of days and was coming and going fine but then left for 2 days I’ve just had a text to say he’s back in our old house’s garden!

I can’t keep him in when his brother is going in and out because they’re so bonded and live on top of each other usually. Any tips to help him come home every time? Most of the time he does but twice now he’s lost his way and picked up the old way to our old house!

[Sniper1]

Hi the best thing I can suggest is that you go back to the beginning and keep them both in for a few weeks he needs to developed a stronger bond to your new location than he has with the older one especially with them being so close he may still like to return to old haunts but if he's not returning for food then he's not bonded to his new home enough to be going out yet

[Thunderkit]

Thanks for your advice! He’s back home now and grounded. I was going to keep him to one room todtqrt with but he’s missed his brother so I’m giving him the rub of the house but shutting him in one room overnight with his bed. That way his bro can still come and go. Will think about letting him out in a few weeks.

[Ruth B]

I would also suggest contacting the people who have moved in to your old house as well as your old neighbours and ask them not to feed him anything, no food, no treats, no bits of the BBQ no matter how much he might be playing the starving cat act, just to contact you to come and collect him. As they say, 'home is where the supper bowl is', they may mean well and think they are just being friendly to him but it is just reinforcing that his idea that his old home is still home.