Have you ever been attacked by a cat? It’s quite conventional to be attacked by a dog, but a cat? What in the entire universe did I do wrong?
I am a cat person. I have cats, I love cats, and I’ve always loved cats. But one night, I completely forgot to put the bins out earlier, so I jolted awake around midnight and suddenly remembered that was the first thing I needed to do.
I dragged myself to the kitchen, picked up the bins, and headed out through the back door. When I got outside, I spotted a cat going through the neighbours’ garbage, completely messing the place up.
I shushed it, hoping to chase it away, but this cat didn’t even move.
It was new to me because I had never seen it around the neighbourhood before, although I had heard that a stray cat had been making a habit of messing up people’s garbage.
I walked closer, expecting it to scurry away. Surprisingly, it didn’t. Instead, it fixed its fiery, bright eyes on me. As I inched closer, it started moving toward me too. Now, that terrified the hell out of me.
I began retreating, but the cat kept coming closer. At that point, I picked up a mop stick I found on the floor and tried to threaten it, hoping it would finally get the message but it didn’t. The thing just shrieked in that terrifying cat way and suddenly jumped on me.
My soul left my body.
There I was, fighting for my life with a tiny, fearless creature in the middle of the night. When I eventually managed to get it off me, I dashed back into the house, panting like I had just escaped a lion attack.
And thank God the back door closed tightly behind me. It could only be opened from the inside, because imagine trying to find a spare key while wrestling with a ferocious cat. That would have been an entirely different level of madness.
From that night until I left that housing complex, if I forgot to take the bins out, they stayed right there until the next morning. I was not going outside at midnight for anybody.
No one even believed that a cat could attack me like that. They saw the scratches and scars, but some of them still felt I was probably just too soft and that was why the cat overpowered me. Maybe I was but I honestly don’t know.
All I know is that the moment that cat jumped on me, adrenaline kicked in and my only goal was to flee. I wasn’t about to prove anything to a creature that weighed a fraction of my size but clearly had the confidence of a full-grown tiger.
The funniest part is that despite the experience, I never stopped loving cats. I just started being terrified of other people’s cats and strays. I loved them from a safe distance.
And I don’t even joke with my own cats. Once I notice they aren’t in the mood for talks, cuddles or playtime, I mind my business immediately.
I know my place.
I am not fighting things with sassy attitudes that don’t even pay rent. 😂
