Cats fighting

I am at my wits end. After moving to our new apartment my two cats have been fighting. The younger a two year old has been hissing and growling at the 4 year old. As I said we have just moved but we have had no problem with any of our other moves and this is very uncharacteristic behavior. This may be due to the move or it could be that the younger one smells the previous owners cat. the apartment was cleaned before we moved in tho. the cats seem to get aggressive at night or in the moring. After about an hour or so of the "fight" the cats seem to call a truce and tolerate each other. My boyfriend seems to think that it may be a dominace thing as the playing that the kitties do has taken on a slighty vicious turn before we moved. other than the move (yes a big thing) thier routine has stayed the same. It is all very confuseing and rather upsetting. What should we do???

Merlie, You may have answered your own question. They might be fighting for dominance in the new environment or bothered by the scent of the cat who lived there. One thing you didn't mention is whether or not your cats are males who have not been neutered. I visited a young lady whose cat tried to attack me every time I went near my canvas bag. Their sense of smell is so much better that ours, that I have no doubt he smelled my cats' odor. She said he had bitten her the day before, and was at a loss to explain his violent behavior. I suggested neutering. Occasionally, however, as much as we love them, there is a nasty cat. I would think you would have noticed that by ages 2 and 4, however.

They were both neutered when they were each 6 months old. If it is a dominance problem, do I just have to let them work it out? And how would you suggest I get rid of the other cat's smell?

Moving is very stressful for cats. It's great that you are keeping their routine the same that will help.

I have also moved recently and my vet recommended giving my cats Walnut flower essence- this is supposed to help with the move and Beech flower essence- this is supposed to ease the tension between the fighting cats. You just put 2 drops in of each into the water bowl. When these are used in combination it is supposed to be even more powerful. You can buy flower essences at any vitamin store.

Hope this helps.