Q: We have a male siamese that we got from a private breeder when he was 12 weeks old. He is now almost 2. He seems to be more attached to me than to anyone else, following me around the house and often sitting near or on me. He can be very sweet one minute, and then suddenly he’ll 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 (that I know of). 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.

A: Some people would say that your cat was isolated from other cats at too early an age and is regarding you as a play toy, but that does not seem to be the case here as you got him at 12 weeks and he does not lash out like this to the other family members. To me it just seems as though some cats 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, 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 spines or around the glands on their chins.

When he chooses to sit next to you on the couch, just pet him a couple of times and then spend the rest of his visit talking about current events. Stay calm around him with as little stimulation as possible. If he pushes the issue and starts to rub himself against you and you know that he is getting stimulated, then get up off the couch and walk away. Do not grab him or push him off the couch as that will create drama.

For his ambush attacks, you have to try a different approach. Go to the dollar store and buy plastic misting bottles. Fill them up with water and leave them all over the house so that one is always within reach. When he is rushing toward you or your daughter to slash at you, just grab a mister and spray the water at him in as calm a manner as possible. You must do this consistently every time. You do not want him to think that you are doing this in response to his behavior as that is a punishment and cats do not react well to punishment. You just want him to think that when he decides to scratch you to see the drama that ensues then out of nowhere all this water rains down on him. That should make the situation less entertaining for him. When he realizes that the behavior is no longer fun, he will most likely stop doing it.