Hello,
Our cat, who for 90% of the day is a sweet little thing that we absolutely love has become a major problem in the house.
He attacks us almost every morning and night. I must express, this is not play fighting, he genuinely means it. I grew up with cats and I've never known anything like it. We come away with bleeding legs and arms (from both teeth and claws). He locks on and won't let go.
He's 4 and this has been going on for a long time, but we're expecting our first baby and are genuinely scared about what's going to happen. At the moment we can't leave our bedroom in the morning without getting fully dressed (he mainly seems to go for us when we have exposed legs or feet)...this isn't going to be a practical solution with a new baby.
I'm really struggling to explain how stressful it is every day...
Things we've tried:
Feliway - We use the plug in Feliway, hasn't seen any change in behaviour
Play sessions - I've been trying to play with him for at least 20 mins a day for a couple of months (using wand toys and laser pens). He loves it but I wonder if it actually makes him more angry, he also never seems to get worn out.
Time outs - When he attacks I've started putting him in a other room for around 10 minutes for hime to calm down. Often he will come out and attack me instantly so I put him back in again until he stops attacking.
Making him feel comfortable - Tried to give him his own areas to sleep / give him his own area in the living room with his own blanket on the sofa
A more interesting diet - Try and rotate brands. He stops eating food after he's had the same make more than a few times running, which often sets off an attack.
When he's not doing this he will come and sit on my lap and likes being around us...it's just these moments during the day he totally loses it.
I don't really know what else to do, he is completely ruling our lives, we're genuinely scared and end up making decisions around what our cat will let us do. With the baby on the way we just can't risk this anymore.
Our cat, who for 90% of the day is a sweet little thing that we absolutely love has become a major problem in the house.
He attacks us almost every morning and night. I must express, this is not play fighting, he genuinely means it. I grew up with cats and I've never known anything like it. We come away with bleeding legs and arms (from both teeth and claws). He locks on and won't let go.
He's 4 and this has been going on for a long time, but we're expecting our first baby and are genuinely scared about what's going to happen. At the moment we can't leave our bedroom in the morning without getting fully dressed (he mainly seems to go for us when we have exposed legs or feet)...this isn't going to be a practical solution with a new baby.
I'm really struggling to explain how stressful it is every day...
Things we've tried:
Feliway - We use the plug in Feliway, hasn't seen any change in behaviour
Play sessions - I've been trying to play with him for at least 20 mins a day for a couple of months (using wand toys and laser pens). He loves it but I wonder if it actually makes him more angry, he also never seems to get worn out.
Time outs - When he attacks I've started putting him in a other room for around 10 minutes for hime to calm down. Often he will come out and attack me instantly so I put him back in again until he stops attacking.
Making him feel comfortable - Tried to give him his own areas to sleep / give him his own area in the living room with his own blanket on the sofa
A more interesting diet - Try and rotate brands. He stops eating food after he's had the same make more than a few times running, which often sets off an attack.
When he's not doing this he will come and sit on my lap and likes being around us...it's just these moments during the day he totally loses it.
I don't really know what else to do, he is completely ruling our lives, we're genuinely scared and end up making decisions around what our cat will let us do. With the baby on the way we just can't risk this anymore.
That is terrible! I had one cat who acted the same way and eventually develope feline hyperesthesia. For several years, though, she benefitted from venting her anger issues by attacking a stuffed toy - it was a pink flamingo. Whenever she had the flattened ears and dilated pupils, we presented her the toy and told her, " get your flamingo, get your flamingo!". My other cats were afraid of her when she would get like that - she would even go after my 21# Maine Coon and she was out for blood. There are medications that would help but I would consider rehoming - there are literally millions of cats who are going to be euthanised and many of them are perfect candidates to be the beloved family pet that your baby will enjoy, potentially all the way into her/his teen years. 
