Dominance problem?

Question
Hi, I have a 8 month old kitten and I have no idea what's happening with him. I adopted him from the SPCA when he was about 6 or 7 weeks old,  he is a siamese cross mix with very different stripes(not tabby). Im having a serious problem with him attacking me and my smaller children for no apparent reason. I have had cats all my life( and I'm 40) and never seen one so aggressive. I'm not sure what to do, my husband is telling me we are going to have to take him back. I really don't want to do that!
Any suggestions?? Please

Answer
Valerie,

Unfortunately that is a common problem with Siamese and Siamese-X. Of course not all, but tend to be aggressive.

Getting him neutered (if he's not) will help calm him down too. Here is a link for state by state low cost spay programs: http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html

He may have what is called Redirected Aggression. That happens when a cat sees a strange cat outside and  becomes territorial, but can't get to the strange cat to defend his territory. The cat then turns on the closest animal member of the family and fights with them as if they were the other cat. They have been known to attack people if no other animals are in the house. You may not see the animal that the cat sees.

The first thing you need to do is block the window past the cat's eye level of the window he can see another cat out of (out of sight, out of mind). If it is allowed to go on your cat may develop a permanent personality change. Also put the cat in a room by itself for at least 4 hours to calm down when he behaves like that.

Kittens need a playmate to play rough with, to cuddle with, and to be comfort them when they are left alone. Your kitten is probably trying to play with you like she would another kitten. You might want to get another kitten for her about the same age and temperment (there would be about a 2 week adjustment period). 2 kittens are easier than one because they keep each other company and take the pressure off of you to keep them amused.

Use a fishing pole type toy, a pet laser light (that shines a little 'red bug' on the floor and walls that cats love to try to catch) that you can get at PetSmart or somewhere similar, a rope to pull, or a stuffed mouse to throw for examples or interactive play.

To help relax your kitty You can try a popular cat calming spray, or plug-in, called Feliway (or Comfort Zone with Feliway). It is available at pet stores, from a vet (they use it too), or on-line. It copies relaxing pheromones that cats produce from rubbing their faces on things.

There is another cat calming product that you can add to his food or water that reduces anxiety called Bach's Rescue Remedy. It is available on-line and in health food stores. Here is a link about it: (copy and paste, or type the whole links into your address bar)
http://www.bachflower.com/Pets.htm

You may want to have him checked by a vet. His behavior could be caused by medical issue and not a behavioral problem. Pain is a common reason for cats to get agressive. Though it is very rare, cats can also suffer from embolisms in the brain which causes them to go crazy.

You may not agree, but there are a lot of VERY loving kittens and cats in shelters that are going to be put to death because of over-crowding and being unwanted that you don't need to try and live with a cat that doesn't want, or can't, be loveable and bring you pleasure owning it, or that may injure you or your family.

I hope this helped,
Carol