A Midnight Visitor

(Before I start this story I would like to make a disclaimer: Most of us don't think that well or rationally at midnight.)

So, last night for some reason I started watching a movie at about 10:30. It wasn't anything great but for some reason I decided to stay up and finish it. About midnight as I was walking back to my bedroom, I thought I heard something or someone in my kitchen. Now remember I live in South Africa, the land of crime :), my immediate thought was how in the world did they get past my security system and my heart started racing. I then heard whatever it was coming towards me and my heart really started racing. We take intruders very seriously here. I was a little relieved (but not much) when it raced past me and I thought, "oh my word, that is a huge rat......"

I quickly got in my bedroom and shut my door and it hit me that it wasn't a rat but was a cat. Almost as bad in my book. I could hear it race towards the kitchen and jump on something and knock something off the counter. I stood there thinking about what in the world I was going to do. We have a lot of wild cats here so I was also thinking about diseases and germs and things like that. I thought about pressing my panic button and making the security guy get it out of the house but decided I didn't want to be the story they tell to everyone about the dumb American. So, I peeked my head out and made sure it was still in the kitchen. I quietly snuck into the living room and opened my front door. I then went and got the broom out of the closet. (Didn't want to have to touch it- that whole disease thing and I could tell it was scared and mad and didn't want to be bitten or scratched.)

I found it in the kitchen trying to climb up my burglar bars to find a way out. (It had come in through an open window so I think it was trying to find one to leave by.) It saw me and raced back to the study to try and get out that window which was now closed. It raced back and forth several times before I realized that instead of trying to get it to find the door if I opened one of the windows it would jump out of it the next time. It eventually jumped out the window and left. Needless to say, it was a very comical sight that I wished someone else had been there to enjoy :).