New Aggression...new furniture?

Our cat, Cali, has recently started acting aggressively in only one room of the house, our kitchen. She will hiss and even attack when in there at certain times. She never used to do this before, and we are understandably concerned.

Some details:

-Cali mainly does this around my wife. This can get pretty intense, to the point that she seems to be "guarding" the kitchen so that my wife cannot enter. This also seems to happen a lot when I'm not at home, though it has happened a few times when I've been around.

-Cali is about four and a half years old.

-Cali has been neutered and is up to date on shots (I think).

-Cali is an exclusively indoor cat, and has always been. She has snuck outside on a couple of occasions, and we have lots of windows.

-Within the last six months we got a new dining room set. The legs are made of metal (iron) and she seems to react to this in particular. She seems to sniff the chair and table legs and her first hissing reactions seemed to be in conjunction with having sniffed this new set. I have no idea if this is part of the problem, but it seems to be.

Anyone have any ideas? She is otherwise fine. Very playful with me, very affectionate with my wife. Sometimes she--the cat --just becomes a demon spawn in the kitchen.

Thanks.

Xtien

It sounds like a territorial or a reaction to something. Did she start doing this right after the dining room set? Did she ever react to your wife like that before?
First, make sure she is using the litter box normally, eating normally, and sleeping normally. If not, take her to the vet, there may be something wrong.
If it was the table that upset her, she cant very well take it out on the table. I would assume that your wife was in sight when she got upset about it. She is re directing her aggression. If thats the case, I would try to rub the table and chair legs with cat nip. Try and get her to think of it as a pleasant object. Second, you can try giving her Dr. Bachs rescue remedey (found at GNC type stores). They get 4 drops on the tounge (fast method). Give it to her as long as she needs it and it is working. It will help take the edge off a little. If it is the table, try giving her treats near it.

Thanks for taking the time to reply Sandie. Near as we can tell the worst of her hissing fits coincided with the new dining room set. We cannot recall her ever reacting to my wife this way before. Cali is using her litter box normally and is eating and sleeping normally as well.

I am wondering if the type of metal it is made of is tough for her to mark in her usual way (rubbing her face against it) and this confuses her. I will try the catnip and treat suggestions. Thanks a lot.

I'm also wondering if the misplaced/redirected aggression is exacerbated by the location of the table. It is near our back door and the back window where Cali likes to hang out sometimes and watch birds. She always wants to get out that back door; I think she wants to get out there and hunt and is frustrated that she can't. The confusion of the table and chairs somehow feeds into all of this. I'm trying to play with her more to see if this helps.

Again, thanks for your advice.

Xtien