My cat attacks me!

[jamieh]

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!

[Aruba417]

Is your cat Siamese? My sister's cat is exactly like that...he's half Siamese. He can be a nice cat...and then out of no where just attack you and make you bleed for no reason. I also have another cat who, although her moods weren't as manic...if she got angry she'd attack the **** out of you, too. And she is also half Siamese. She's old now...so she doesn't get mean anymore. But in her younger years.....watch out!

[MrsH234]

I had the same problem basically.  Our cat was birthed frmoa stray but we got her at about 4-5 weeks so she was never wild.  She would attack to kill out of the blue. She was declawed so her attack was a bite to the death. I tried a water spray bottle, time out, everything. She wouldn't stop. It was something in-born that we couldn't break.

We have a 70 lb dog that would walk through the house shaking for fear the cat was coming.  The dog would run away, never fight back. My legs are scarred from the attacks. Everyone in my house was tired of walking while watching their backs. We took her to an adoption center. Perhaps someone living alone with no children or other pets can break it.

[ilickpennies]

Oh my. Sounds just like our cat. My husband lived in Puerto Rico before we met and found the cat in the jungle when she was only a few weeks old. She was very feral.... and we almost didn't have a relationship because of this cat. She would trap me in rooms, climb up my jeans, probably to scratch my eyes out, do the thing where she would wrap her whole body around my calf. She was fine one minute while you were petting her, and the next minute the same movement would make her crazy. The only thing that calmed her down was when we had to get her font declawed, due to a living situation. My husband and I didn't like the idea, but she still has her back claws and her behavior has much improved. She doesn't attack for no reason anymore. She is still temperamental, but she is actually a pleasant pet now.

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

I think you may need to take your cat to a veterinary behaviorist for this problem.  Your veterinarian can refer you to one.  Many questions will have to be answered by you to aid your veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist such as:  When did this behavior begin?  Were there any changes in the environment just prior to this behavioral change, no matter how insignificant you believe them to be?  At what age was she spayed?  Is your other cat a female or male?  How does she get along with the other cat, other family members, or friends?  Is she more partial to males or females?  Has she had any health issues in the past?  Do you notice her eating more, urinating more or inappropriately, etc.   Is the behavior truly aggressive, or just rough play and she does not know she is hurting you?  Could they be seizures?

In the mean time clip her nails, go online, or to a good pet retainer and purchase Soft Paws.  Soft Paws are false claws that you glue over your cat