Hissy Fit

I've seen another side to my cat Buddy today. And I do not like it one bit. It scared me, in fact.

There I was, busy doing what a good mother does on a Friday afternoon. Cleaning the basement. My damp dusting cloth was flipping this way and that, and it happened to flip over the back of the chair Buddy was napping in. I don't know what happened exactly, but the next thing I know Buddy is awake, hissing, arching his back and swatting at the rag. Thinking I must have scared him out of some sort of Cat Nightmare, I throw the cloth down and let him have at it. Except he's not interested in the cloth. It's ME he's after. I kid you not, folks. I feared for my life. Well, at least for my legs. Buddy was stalking me! He kept coming at me, hissing, beady-eyed, back arched, poofy-furred. I told him "NO!" and threw a pillow at him to distract him, but that just incensed him more.This lasted several minutes. I was home alone, and all I could think of was how I was going to get out of this situation without being scratched or bitten  to death. I finally backed up to the vacuum cleaner and used it as my guard.

Finally, Buddy backed down and relaxed a bit, but he kept following me around for a while. Now, several hours later, he seems fine.

Seriously, folks, is that strange or what? I had never experienced that in my life. Should I worry about this cat?Or is that 'normal cat behavior'?

Buddy's sibling in Alberta is known to be the meanest cat around (well, that might be a bit harsh, but I have heard that he terrorizes people) but I thought Buddy had not acquired those genes. Now I'm wondering if it was just latent, and the older he gets, the wilder he becomes.

Let's just say I don't see Buddy quite the same way anymore. Unfortunately.

I hope my friends still feel free to come over and visit me. I'll be sure to have the pepper spray handy. ;)