Siamese lilac point behaviour problems

Question
I've had my Siamese cat Abraham for 7 wonderful years. He is a huge part of our family and is adored.
In September I had a baby. On returning from hospital we ensure Abraham was introduced so he could see the baby. 10 weeks on and my life has become very stressful with Abraham. Obviously he now does not control the attention of us full time, bearing in mind we are both at work all day abd he only had the evenings.
He has started to scratch carpets in the house, dig plants, throw out his litter, get up on the worktops. Bascially everything to crave attention. He is becoming  worse everyday and I'm now considering rehoM ing him. He is unhappy as he gets smacked for his naughtyiness.
I got a Feliway plug in but it has made no difference.
Please help  

Answer
Hi Sadie.  With children, you can explain why they are getting spanked so they can adjust their behavior.  Cats don't have any chance of understanding why they're getting smacked, so not only is it ineffective, but it causes a further strain on your relationship, due to distrust.  Avoid smacking him to correct his behavior.

Siamese cats are unhappy in homes where they get little attention, so if you are both at work all day and then most of your attention is spent on the baby afterwards, it's understandable why he's frustrated.  It truly may be the kindest idea to find him a new home where he can get more attention.  But I would recommend choosing the home yourself, so you can ensure it's one where someone will be home a lot of the time and where they will understand unique Siamese traits, like their demands for attention and their inclination to talk a lot.

But sometimes finding Siamese a feline companion will do the trick.  As they have company to keep them entertained, they are not so interested in being destructive out of boredom all day.  This has to be done carefully with older Siamese who are set in their ways.  My experience is that Siamese are generally very tolerant of younger kittens but can be jealous of older cats.  Some people have trouble introducing even kittens.  I would continue using the Feliway during the process, if you would consider getting a new kitten.

You also will need to address some of the behavioral problems that Abraham is engaging in so that he doesn't teach them to the new kitten.  To discourage him from digging in the plants, try covering the soil with rocks, which are uncomfortable to dig in, or even aluminum foil, or an aluminum pie pan.  Or if it's available, try Sticky Paws for plants (http://store.stickypaws.com/merchant2/).  You can also try applying the Sticky Paws for furniture to the carpeted areas where he's scratching to discourage scratching there.  Try to place an appropriate scratching post directly over that spot.  Those with sisal are generally very well received.  To prevent him from throwing his litter out of the box, consider getting an extra large hooded litter box.  These are deeper than ordinary boxes, and they have a small entrance hole, so it will be difficult for him to fling litter out.  I also have some Booda Dome Clean Step litter boxes (http://ozbo.com/Clean-Step-Littr-Box-Titantan-683806.html?utm_source=googlebase&...).  It's almost impossible for cats to make messes with these.

Good luck, I hope something works out for you!

Jessica