Unprovoked nightly cat attacks

My husband, daughter and I have two cats (brother and sister) that have been with us since they were six weeks old. They are now almost 4. They are well-loved by all three of us.

All of a sudden, the female cat (that has always been the soft-hearted one) has started to launch premeditated, unprovoked nightly attacks on me. I am the one that is home the most and have always been very close to them. During the day, everything's completely normal, but in the last week, she has attacked me three times: she wait until we go to bed (spends most of the evening on our laps purring) and watches me intensely. Only me. Then walks onto the bed as if ready to pounce. I try to let her under the blankets, but he shies away. She comes back 6 to 7 times and then decides to attack me. This all happens while I am trying to fall asleep, but am not sleeping yet.

She sits on the night stand and just stares at my face from a 10 inch distance. It is not the REM-sleep eyemovement thing I read about, since I don't even get to that part. She seems to deliberately, carefully plan the attack, and when she finally attacks, it is paired with loud aggresssive hissing, screaming and serious biting and scratching. She tries to go for my eyes, and already got me good once, at 1/2" from my left eye.  

I love her dearly and will of course take her to the vet asap, but I am pretty convinced she is not in pain. This has to do wit sth between me and her. Regrettably, I have no clue what. Nothing is different than last year. Nothing has happened etc etc. And again: during the day she is her sweet little self.

Please tell me what to do to help her.

Erik

[suzi-q]

wow!  that is interesting...I have no answers but am very curious myself.  I suggest to you to also post your question in the "Ask a Vet" forum.  A doctor will answer your question within one or two days.  Keep us posted on your findings!

[Savas]

My first reaction is to ask "Are You pregnant...Are you SURE you aren't pregnant?"  :)

Seriously, this is an intense form of what can happen when a cat owner becomes pregnant. Your scent changes and kitty no longer recognizes you fully, which can cause insecurity and/or hostility.

Otherwise... I'd seriously suggest getting kitty checked out thoroughly if the above isn't the case. there's a number of parasites and other illnesses that can affect behavior due to neurological damage. If kitty tests out fine, then you're getting into a very specific behavior issue I'd rather not begin to try to figure out until all else is ruled out..

(WHY does my cat HATE me all of the sudden?!?!...lord...I see therapy bills for all. :)  )