One of our cats is miving out - how can we make him love home again?

[becclestown]

sad face
We have 2 cats, brother & sister, rescue kittens now nearly 4 yrs old. Recently our boy Wiggy has decided he would rather live with the family over the road, and mostly just come home for food.
We miss him, and want him around more. What can we do?
The family are nice, they don't feed him, and return him to us frequently. However, they also have cats who Wiggy is pals with. One of their 3 cats sadly passed away end of last year, and it may be this change in the status quo which was a catalyst (!)
Also, we have a toddler & a baby, who don't give him much peace. Wiggy is a loving but feisty beast & often cuts up rough with his sister & us, thus finding himself plopped outside for 'timeout'.
To me, a cat's independence is it's essence. Should I just accept he's happy, or is there a magic 'Come Home' pheremone plug-in on sale anywhere?!

"we have a toddler & a baby, who don't give him much peace"

well there you are then.

you could try giving him a cat-house where he will be comfortable and not poked and pulled, but he's already found one, over the road.

I think that's the crux of it! DD is getting a lot better as she gets older (she's not three yet) but it's his choice.
Short of locking him in, which I won't do, I guess we'll learn to live with it & get our strokes when he comes home for food :(

We do see his sister a lot more now he's not around to bully her, and she's a lot wiser about getting out of DD's way.

Cats are funny like that. When my mum died my sister took in my mums dog. My sisters cat pulled a sulk and moved in with another family nearby but often popped home. A few years later when my mums dog died the cat just moved back home as if nothing had happened !!!