ArcaMax

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, NV

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 early an 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 just 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 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.

Q: We have a Maltipoo and two Pomeranians and every time our doorbell rings all of them rush to the door barking hysterically. We have to pick them all up before we can open the door. We had a professional trainer come in to show us what to do, but he could not do anything and we are at our wits end and wondered if you had any advice. -- Ellen Rosenberg, Chicago, IL

A: This is not an easy problem to solve in a house of multiple dogs. If you have only one dog then it is a simple situation to fix because all you need to do is stand in front of the door and block the way until the dog calms down. Obviously this is not possible with a pack of them as you have experienced there is too much happening at one time.

There was a time in my life when I had eight dogs and as the pack grew in size, the drama that occurred when the doorbell rang increased geometrically. Guests that looked in could not believe their eyes at the sight as it ranged from my big dog Garfield, who looked like a cross between a German Shepherd and a donkey, down to little Dixie, the Dachshund who actually had the loudest bark of the whole crew. I finally solved the problem by keeping a candy jar full of dog treats by the front door that was out of Garfield's reach.

When the doorbell rang and the pack sprang into action, I would wade through them to get to the jar and grab a handful of treats and throw them to the other side of the room. Then, of course, they would all rush there and start to snuffle about and vacuum them up. That would allow me time to open the door and let my guests in.

I did this as a temporary fix but soon the dogs figured out that when the doorbell rang it meant treats were going to appear on the other side of the living room. The first dog there ended up getting the most treats, so the whole pack then would run to that spot in as soon as the bell rang and would wait there until I threw the treats at them. They no longer focused on the door at all.

That situation taught me how with positive reinforcement you could teach an animal to do just about anything you wanted and my whole life got a lot easier. However, this method does not work with all dogs. Some dogs have a higher food drive then others.

In your case you have little dogs and they can be fussy eaters and may prefer barking at the door rather than sniffing around the carpet for dog treats. In such a case, a spray bottle kept by the door may be just the thing to distract them enough to allow you to back them out of the way and allow your guests to enter.

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(Marc Morrone has kept almost every kind of animal as a pet for the last half-century and he is happy to share his knowledge with others. Although he cannot answer every question, he will publish many of those that have a general interest. You can contact him at petxperts2@aol.com; please include your.)

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