Acting calm and using a spray bottle can help train cats

Q: We have a male Siamese cat that we got when he was 12 weeks old from a private breeder. He is now almost 2 years old. He seems to be more attached to me than anyone else, following me around the house and often sitting near or on me. He can be very sweet one minute, sitting on my lap as I scratch his head and neck. He’ll be purring away and then suddenly turn on me and start biting my feet. If I’m lying down he will come over and start biting my feet for no reason. Another thing he does is randomly attack me or my daughter while we’re walking around, biting and scratching our ankles and lower legs. I am covered with scratches. He doesn’t do this to my husband or son. I thought maybe this was his way of being playful, but he really seems angry and ferocious when he does this. I’ve had cats all my life, both male and female, and I’ve never had this problem. Can you help me understand and deal with this behavior? — Terry Torres, Las Vegas

A: At this point in my life I have learned enough about cats to realize that I actually know much less than I thought I did years ago. I really cannot tell you why your cat is treating you so harshly and your relationship has become so toxic.

Some people would say your cat was isolated from other cats at an early age and is regarding you as a play toy, but that does not seem to be the case here. You got him at 12 weeks of age and he does not lash out like this to all the other members of your family. To me it seems like some cats just have too much time on their hands and they just come up with these weird games to amuse themselves.

At any rate I can offer these suggestions. First of all do not allow him to become overly stimulated when you are petting him. It seems that some cats — especially Siamese — go into some kind of “red zone” when you pet them with a lot of pressure at the end of their spine or around the glands on their chin. When he chooses to sit next to you on the couch just pet him a couple of times and then spend the rest his visit talking about current events. Just stay calm around him with as little stimulation as possible and if he pushes the issue and starts to rub himself against you then just get up off the couch and walk away. Do not grab him or push him off the couch as that will just create drama.

For his ambush attacks you have to try a different approach. Go to the dollar store and buy a great many plastic misting bottles and fill them up with water and leave them all over the house so that one is always nearby. When he is rushing toward you to slash at you, just grab a mister and spray the water at him in as calm a manner as possible. You do not want him to think that you are doing this in response to his behavior. That would be a punishment and cats do not react well to punishment. You just want him to think that when he decides to scratch you then out of nowhere all this water rains down on him and that makes the situation less entertaining for him.

When he himself realizes that the behavior — scratching at your legs — is no longer fun then he will choose to stop doing it of his own accord. However, the spraying of the water has to happen every time he rushes out at your legs — that is why you need to have the spray bottles all over the house. If you have to run about the house looking for a bottle with the cat running after you then this just adds to the drama and makes the situation worse.