I have a mean cat

Question
My cat is about a year old and it has always been mean.  I can never pet him because he bites everytime i attempt to.  If i am walking down the hallway of my home it will attack my ankles and try to bite them.  The cat is fixed and also declawed (thank god).  All i would like is to be able to pet my cat.  How do i stop him from being so aggressive.  Please help me.  

Answer
Hi Natalie.  I'm afraid this may be due to the declaw.  Aggression is extremely common in declawed cats.  I heard one veterinary behaviorist say that, of cats who come into his practice because of biting, 9 times out of 10, they're declawed.  It could be due to chronic pain (some cats appear to experience pain similar to the phantom limb pains human amputees get), or it could be psychological - knowing their primary means of defense (their claws) has been taken away, they become aggressive and use their teeth.

I think it would be very worthwhile for you to consult an animal behaviorist.  Your vet should be able to refer you to one.  Hopefully, there are some behavior modification techniques that may help.  With most cats, giving them a time out for 15 minutes will give them time to cool off and will teach them that biting gets them punished.  But I have not dealt with declawed cats, so I can't say for sure.  You might also want to carry a squirt bottle with you when you walk down the hallway to try to stop him from attacking or get him off of you if he does attack.

If all fails, some cats do actually have chemical imbalances that cause aggression, and an antidepressant is very helpful.  I have one cat like that myself.  He's so much happier with the help of his medication, I wouldn't dream of making him live without it.