Response from Dr Patricia Simonet:

You are not alone when it comes to teaching our kitties to be wicked with their claws. When young, kittens play very roughly. They attack one another, bite each others' necks, mock de-gut one another, in short they are training to be the tyrants they were born to grow into. The domestic cat hierarchy, if you could call it that, is based on the Saddam Hussein model of despotism. Torture is not out of the question. About four years ago I was asked by a no-kill shelter to assess a cat that they said was unpredictable and vicious. They were thinking of euthanasia. I took the cat home for 3 days. On the first day, I petted the cat to see if she would attack me (they had named her Xena because of her violent attacks when people were petting her).

At first she appeared to invite the petting. However, let me say right now I didn't fall for her act, because I knew that when she was rubbing vigorously against me with her face she was in fact marking me as her own. Her cheek glands were hard at work. As soon as she began marking me I stopped petting her and placed her in a spare bathroom. (Yes, I know, the spare bathroom again!) I left her there for 1.5 days. I, of course, fed her and gave her fresh water - cleaned her box, but I did not speak to her nor did I allow her to rub against me while I tended to her.

After that day and half I brought her back out into the house with everyone, including the dogs. When she attempted to rub against my leg, I moved my leg out of the way. She then went to the dog, and tried to rub against the dog. The dog moved out of the way. Then quite suddenly she got it, "I am not the boss." She then purred sweetly and head butted with the dog.

I trained her to walk on a leash and returned her to the shelter. They adopted her to a couple the very next day. The people were warned to not allow the cat to cheek rub, and if she did to do as I had done. They recently e-mailed me with an update on how wonderful and loving their cat is. They also take her on walks.

You may have to start all over with your cat, building a relationship based on respect. Right now, you are a mere subject in this cat's tyrannical nation. When you want a seat on the couch and "cat" is there, simply move him out of the way, or better yet, start to slowly sit where he is sitting. The cat will move! You are going to start dictating to the cat the terms. You, not the cat, set the rules and boundaries. Cats understand the language of tyrants.

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Posted on SHARE Yahoo group Oct. 15, 2005