Cat Attack

So, continuing on our romatic exploration of the old historical district of Bogotá, we stumbled upon a ´´Pastelería Francesa´´ (French pastry shop) and, despite the budget we had set for ourselves, moseyed on in for a look and inevitably a tasty treat.

I should have known the place would be kind of expensive, due to the rather high ratio of gringo to latino. Upon entrance, I spotted a crusty-looking white dude with a blondish-reddish beard, writing in a leatherbound journal. I was willing to overlook the potential sticker shock of the establishment simply because, through a little arched doorway, I could see a sunny little courtyard with a glass roof and many hanging plants and little armchairs and other cozy little nooks. A photographer´s paradise. We sat down and ordered some espresso and a couple of little sweets.

Almost immediately upon taking our seats at a little wooden table, a rather lively and feisty cat bounced in to join us. She began doing the ´´scratch me please´´ dance by rubbing her head and body against our legs. I don´t really love cats, nor animals in general so much, but Jenny really does, so she indulged the creature while I kind of scowled at it and used the opportunity to dig into the chocolate tart while she was occupied.

The cat caught my eye, and I swear I saw a plan brewing behind her little slitted irises. She crept under the table and was soon directly underneath me, which caused my chest to tighten slightly. I took my first sip and placed the cup back down. Cat was doing the pounce face. She lurched back, jumped up on her hind legs, and hooked her paw around the edge of the table, hitting the espresso saucer and catapulting my espresso cup (and its entire scalding contents) onto my lap.

I had to trek back into the main room of the café, tail between my legs, to explain rather sheepishly to the barista that I had been attacked by the cat. I showed her the giant wet stain on my pants. Her eyes widened, and I saw her doing her best to hold back a good cackle, but she was quite the lady and instead handed me some towels and brought me a new cup. Awesome.

I asked her if this had ever happened to anyone else before. Nope. Of course it hadn´t. Friggin cats.