Held at cat-point

When leaving my apartment, you walk out into an enclosed squarish room/hallway/thingy. All apartments and 2 stairwells have doors into this non-hallway.

Several of my neighbors have cats and it is not a concern when the cats bolt out of a door because- where are they gonna go?

You with me?

So it was not strange this weekend when I heard many meows coming from just outside my door. It WAS strange that I heard it for HOURS.

I finally took pity on the poor soul and went out my door to visit Mr. Abandoned.

He was a huge cat with a small head- soft and VERY friendly. I sat up against my door and just gave him some love for a couple of minutes. All was going well until he turned into Mr. Psycho. Aggressive- not breaking skin, but biting me hard enough that it hurt. And batting me hard with his paws.

Okay. Thanks but no thanks. I can see why you are out here.

It was all I could do to get BACK into my apartment without him bolting IN. I postponed taking out the garbage and doing other errands just so I could avoid the situation. I felt like a hostage! Finally, I peeked out of the peephole to see a cat-less room. I don't know if the owner took him back in, or if he escaped to the stairs-- but episodes like this will keep me cat-free for a long while.