Calming Collar....backfires?!

[IndigoBites]

Indigo has a problem with biting and scratching, and I've tried everything, so I've been doing a little online surfing to figure things out and many people said to use a "calming collar", which is full of the cat pheromone that mother cats use to soothe their babies, so I decided to give it a try.
I bought it a few hours ago and put it on him, he seemed to calm down a little bit, I was extremely relieved. Ten minutes later I'm laying down trying to take a picture of him in his new cute purple collar and much to my surprise he viciously attacks me multiple times. This wasn't kitten playing a little rough attacking, it was more like him trying to kill me. He sank his little fangs deep into my upper thigh and now there's two little puncture wounds that are bruised and swollen, not to mention at least 20 deep scratches...
What on earth could have caused this?!! The collar?
He's been acting even more aggressive this week and I don't know why...

[Ducman69]

I'm no expert myself, but have read quite a bit of literature recently. Is he neutered and whats his age/history in the home/etc? Perhaps you are just particularly delicious and taste like chicken, so details might help.

Definitely wouldn't tolerate aggressive biting though.

[catloverami]

Could be just having the collar on itself. I would take it off. Be very careful of bites that puncture the skin. Wash immediately with soap and water or dab on some hydrogen peroxide and then some Neosporin or other anti-bacterial ointment. If it starts swelling or gets worse, immediately see your doctor or go to a clinic. You'll need anitibiotic shots and tetanus (if you haven't already had one). Bad cat bites can cause a nasty infection.

Definitely get him neutered if you have not already done so. Young males can get aggressive in the way you describe when testosterone gets going around 8-9 months. Discourage any biting at all with water spray, or a light smack with a folded newspaper and a stern "No biting!" A newspaper does not hurt but will startle him, and may have to do it only once or twice. You have to set boundaries and show him biting is unacceptable behvior to you and you won't tolerate it. Let us know how things go.

[Heidi n Q]

Another perspective:

Your kitty has something irritating him to the point of biting/scratching himself.
You placed an unfamiliar collar on him.
Behavior in the form of aggression is increasing.
OR ... the biting/scratching is a form of kitten-play and not due to an irritant

First:
To many animals, having something around their neck triggers survival behavior. In nature, having something circling your throat is a *threat* to your survival and instinct demands the animal do all in its' power to remove that threat so they can survive.

Second:
His initial issue has not been solved and the addition of the collar has now added another element to his discomfort; on top of the physical discomfort he then had to deal with an instinctual threat to his survival.

Finally:
Whatever his biting/scratching issue is, it must be addressed.
Now, when you say biting/scratching ... what do you mean? Bite/scratch as in *himself* or extra-exhuberant kitten-play where he is playing too roughly with you?

If it is himself he is harming, you need to look into solving whatever is bothering him to the point of scratching/biting. Generally allergies to food ingredients or fleas.
If it is you he is harming by playing too roughly ... you'll have to re-direct that play onto acceptable things and teach him that it is unacceptable to bite/scratch people. Often, having two kittens the same age at the same time helps keep that rough play behavior between themselves and they learn to self-regulate their play so it doesn't hurt. When there is only a kitten and a person, the kitt tries to wrestle with their person ... but the person doesn't have fur-protected skin and sharp teeth/claws of their own to immediately retaliate with and thus *teach* each other that those sharp-bits *hurt*.
Best of luck,
h =^..^=