Hello, I have two cats, and my problem concerns my female cat. She is approx. 5 years old, spayed, and dwells indoors. I adopted her from a local animal orphanage when she was approx 1.5 years old.
My problem is that she goes into a serious "attack-mode" at least once every day, and I am the target. She'll be her normal, playful self one moment, and the next thing I know she'll start swirling my legs, mewing nastily, back-hair raised, until she flies at my legs with all four claws. Usually the first attack happens before I can do anything to defend myself, and after I'll have to try and pin her down so that I can get a firm hold of her to put her in "time-out" (she'll keep on attacking if I don't). For her time-out I lock her in the bathroom for several minutes (I have learned to keep a box of bandages in my kitchen these days!). Usually her evil spell has passed by the time I let her out of the bathroom.
Any thoughts/advice on her behavior would be appreciated. I have not been able to determine what, if anything in particular, brings on this behavior - there is no pattern to it. She is typically a sweet, friendly, and loving cat!
Thanks!