Cat Becoming Aggressive

[colsxjack]

We have a 10.5yo cat. She is a siamese mix.
She has always been a shyish cat but very friendly with the family members and friends that frequent the house. Other people she just hides away from.

She started to get a little aggressive at age 9yo with our other cat (8yo and her son) who was a big attention hog and also liked to pounce on her and wrestle. She liked the wrestling in her younger years but wasn't fond if it any longer. That cat now lives with my sister and her kids and everyone is now getting her needs met.

We have a 7 month old DD and the cat stays far enough away that the baby can't get her, but likes to still come up on the bed or couch. When the baby is sleeping she still cuddles on the couch with us or has her petting sessions.

When my wife was about 5th pregnant I noticed that the cat took a swat at my FIL one night while he was petting her. I just figured that he was being rough, since he never really is around cats. Although, that is the first time ever that she has swatted at anyone. I can even do things she absolutely hates like bathe her or crate her and she has never even tried to hiss or swat or scratch before.

Then I noticed it again with my MIL, and now she has taken a swat at my DD a couple of times and at my DW. Never at me yet. Sometimes it is even unprovoked. Like she will be laying on the couch with my DW and my FW is talking (a bit with her hands) and the cat will take a swat. I do not know what to do.
The swat are never with nails exposed, but it is definitely a swat and startles the person. With my in-laws I do not think they like it and do not understand as they do not know cats at all.

I am wondering if this is related to the baby. Or maybe she is getting older and her eyesight is going and she is feeling insecure and threatened by the shadows of moving hands?

I am just nervous as the baby becomes more mobile as the baby is infatuated with the cat and already shows excitement and tries to get at her. I do not mind so much if the cat takes a friendly swat at DD if she pulls on her tail or something. The child will have to learn and the cat will have to protect herself. I just do not want the cat to swat at people unprovoked. And I do not want her to feel more threatened in life after DD is mobile...which will be very soon.

Thanks for any advice or insite you can give.
I have had the cat for almost 10 years, but do not really know much about other cats.

[Geigerin]

I'm no cat expert, but I've seen this with other aging kitties. You may be right that in older age, the kitty is just more nervous. Maybe can't see/hear, etc.

A temporary fix to at least prevent scratching if claws ever are exposed are SoftPaws. I don't believe in declawing (personal choice), but when we moved in with my DH, he was really worried about damage the claws could do to his nice furniture. We only used them for about 6 months, and he realized they weren't going to hurt anything... They're usually just clear plastic covers that get super-glued to the cats' claws, and they fall off after about 4-6 weeks.

We are expecting our first baby any day now, and I've already considered going back to the claw covers when the babe is old enough to harrass the cats. They would never intentionally hurt, but that's how they defend themselves against our large, annoying puppy. I imagine they would swat if someone started grabbing at fur, tails, etc.

[colsxjack]

Do the softpaws bother the cat? My cat won't even wear a collar or anything, so I am afraid of bugging her. But that may be a good place to start until she gets comfortable with the fact that she is safe, and we get more comfortable that she wont hurt anyone.

Do you get them put on by the vet or do it yourself?

[colsxjack]

The were cheaper than I thought, so Ive just bought some pastel blue ones to put on my beautiful siamese. They will go nicely with her hair and eyes!

[Geigerin]

Sorry...just saw your questions. You can have a groomer put them on, but it's probably easier at home so the cat is more at ease. I just cradle them like a baby as if I'm trimming their nails (I usually get that done at the same time). It took our cats a little while to get used to them. They would walk away and pull at their nails, but after a few minutes, they were fine. Just follow the instructions on the box. I think you have to watch/hold the kitty for about 5minutes after applying the covers to wait for the glue to dry.

Note of caution: I'm a bit of a klutz, but I accidentally glued my fingers together once while doing this because the glue is a super glue that you put in the tip of the claw cover. Usually, my DH helps put them on, but that day I was doing it alone and wasn't paying attention. Stuck my fingers together and had to run to the store with fingers glued shut. Nail polish remover (with acetone) was the only way to get them unstuck, and I don't usually keep that kind of thing in the house. Just a word of warning when you go to apply the nails....lol

Between the glue and the nail polish remover, this is sounding like a pretty toxic mix , but honestly, it's the best protection we have without declawing the cats. The rest of our household is pretty free of chemicals, so I just have to hope we aren't causing too much damage.

ETA: Let me know how it goes! I'd love to see pics.