Let me preface this by saying that I am talking about a well loved cat who live more than 13 year, by all indications, happily, after these events occurred.

Perhaps the cat just needs to learn that its behavior is dangerous to its self. I have often seen a mother cat whack a misbehaving kitten.

Our cat used to claw my eyelids while I was sleeping. No doubt this was aggressive play behavior. But it obviously could not be tolerated. One night I waited, batting my eyes until she emerged from the side of the bed and whacked her against the wall (six inches away) with the back of my hand.

If Meghan were to walk through the attack zone with a spray bottle of water and spray Sheldon in the face with water as he sprang to attack. I would wager that after a time or two there would be no more attacks. Likewise a similar strategy could be used to protect the dog.