My five year old is suddenly aggressive...

My sweet five year old girl has recently started to become aggressive towards our pet cat (The cat's been around since before she was born).  She constantly wants to pick him up and hold him like a doll and chases him all over the house  when he runs away from her.  She'll hold him for long periods of time without letting him move.   I'm very worried.  She has also started becoming aggressive towards me (her mom) also:   mimicking me, pinching me when she doesn't get her way, giving me ultimatums, and sometimes punching me or kicking me.  She has also started showing this behavior towards her older brother and sister (they are 15 and 20 years old).    Can someone please give me advice???  I am not an aggressive person but my husband is sometimes verbally abusive towards me in front of our five year old.  Could this be the reason she's acting this way?    I've tried time outs to stop the behavior but they don't really seem to have any effect on her.

[margypops]

The Cat cant fend for herself so you will have to protect it, do not let your daughter pick it up, keep it away from her all the time until she realises its not a toy and can feel pain,if you allow your daughter to hold down the cat for hours as you describe you are allowing animal abuse, perhaps it is time to get a home for the cat until your daughter is older .Yes you are also correct when you say that as your husband is abusive to you your daughter is copying ,it is a learned behavior,. perhaps you could get some counseling for you and your husband, and tell him you will not permit the abuse anymore ,when he starts it, walk away, do not feed into it, do not permit it to happen ,it is your life and unhealthy for your daughter to see this behavior.Make sure you use the timeo out method when she is mean to you, and make sure she satays there, set the bounderies for her and your husband and stick to them, it really does work.Good luck