Aggressive Cat!

Question
My husband and I have a Siamese mix that was rescued from a shelter 4
months ago, she is now approximately 10 months old. A couple of months
ago she started to randomly attack me with vicious force! She will stalk me
then attack my legs, arms, head, face and even my neck! If I do not grab her
by the nape of the neck and detain her she will continue to attempt to kill me
it seems. I do not know what to do! I don't want to send her back to the
shelter, but I am tired of being fearful in MY home because of my little demon
cat! PLEASE HELP!

Answer
Tracy,

Unfortunately as you have had the opportunity to discover siamese cats are extremely intelligent. The problem with this intelligence is that if you don't show the cat appropriate ways of blowing off steam they tend to come up with their own ideas for games and the games the cat comes up with aren't necessarily human friendly. If this kitty is not spayed you should do so immediately as this will certainly curb any hormonal aggression. I would first suggest a complete health check by your vet to make sure that there isn't some sort of medical issue causing this behavior although I think that it sounds fairly behavioral. This kitty sounds more than a little dominant as well. I would suggest that you isolate her in a room of her own for 2-3 weeks. During this time I would suggest that you start working with her - if she attacks you leave the room without giving her any form of attention. This means do not make eye contact, do not speak with her, do not touch her, walk away without any reinforcement. You are also going to introduce this kitty to the wonders of kitty teases and kitten mittens. These are both toy types that encourage the cat to exercise stalking and killing on items rather than humans. If you don't start to see vast improvement within a week or so of this treatment I would consult with the vet for a referral to a behaviorist. This is a problem that you may have to solve with professional help that can come into your home and see kitty in action. I hope that this problem can be solved between your vet, the basic home behavioral modification and the possible use of a behaviorist. The vet may want to try medication if the problem persists so that the cat is more able to absorb the work you are doing on her behavior. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.