Stalked at Night

There's something about living in the amazon jungle that makes me want to read Tarzan. Ok, so I live in a small town in a concrete house with internet access at home, but it's still the jungle.

And now there came the sound of a heavy body brushing against the side of the cabin. She could hear the great padded paws upon the ground outside... Then she distinctly heard the beast outside sniffing the door, not two feet from where she crouched...A gentle scratching sound was heard on the door.

excerpt from Tarzan of the Apes, chapter 14

By Edgar Rice Burroughs

public domain

And when I go to bed with Burroughs' words echoing in my head, being awakened to the sound of something quietly sneaking across the thin tin roof above my head is a little startling. My heart beats quickly as I strain my ears. Those footsteps are far too heavy to be a house cat aren't they?

The padding on the roof stops. No, there it is again, over the kitchen. The dogs outside start barking maniacally, angry at this nocturnal intrusion into their territory. And then all at once, the great beast sprints across the roof, back towards the side of the house that faces the river and the forested hill.

From the crashing of its great feet, I'm afraid it will fall through onto my head, and I doubt my mosquito net is rated for falling jungle predators. The roof holds. Silence returns. And eventually I fall back asleep.

As this scene is repeated each night, I get more and more used to it. My heart no longer pounds in my throat when I'm awakened by the padding on the roof. Especially since I saw this one day.

Yup, that's kitty feet and a tail. Photo by Kirstie Bickford.

A terrifying nocturnal predator. Photo by Isaac Bickford

Hopefully we'll get a shot of the actual cat one of these days, instead of just his silhouette on the roof. He's beautiful! And although he is technically a house cat, he's a big one. And has facial markings kinda like this guy.

A tigrillo, native to the jungles of Ecuador. Photo by Geigy; public domain.

..Isaac..

edit:

Here's a picture of the kitty!

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (so hot that sometimes he runs to get off--it's really loud). Photo by Kirstie Bickford