NIGHT VISITOR

Trash collection is one of the most disgusting aspects of living in Puerto Vallarta.  There are very few trash receptacles (no Dempsey Dumpers) .  Every block has one designated corner where trash is left.  Most people are good about leaving the trash in plastic bags, but not always sealed.  Some people just drop trash and garbage at the corner.  Luckily my designated corner is at the other end of the block.  It really stinks, probably because of the fish restaurant below me.  To make matter worse scavengers (human and otherwise) dig through the trash to see what they can find of value, leaving an even greater mess.

One night before going to bed, I had carefully tied up a plastic bag of trash and left it at the top of the stairs intending to carry it down in the morning.  I had eaten "take out" ribs from my favorite bar and that morning had finished off the bacon with my breakfast.  The next morning I noticed little pieces of plastic scattered about the floor.   Then I noticed a hole had been torn in the bag.  RATS ! I thought.  The night had been very hot so I had left the window in the guest bedroom open in order to catch any breath of fresh air we had that night (I do not like to leave the A/C on all night long).  I was hoping that the critter had entered through the window and had not been living here all the time.  I have never found any little "droppings" indicating the presence of rodents, nor had I ever seen one (dead or alive) since I moved here two years ago.  This had puzzled me because of the trash at every cornier and the fact that we live in the middle of a dense jungle.

I headed for Guadalajara Pharmacy as they carry a little of everything. They did not have the  poison pellets I was looking for.  They had the old fashioned spring traps, but I have always been afraid of them.  What if the trap caught the rat, but did not kill him?  The other choice was a pan of glue that presumably the rat would walk over and get stuck.  But he would still be alive!  I could not handle that.  I was told that I could buy the poison I wanted at Walmart.  I had already started a Walmart list (I can't do anything without a list). and decided to make that trip the following day.

That night I got up in the middle of the night (old people do this a lot) and as I headed toward the kitchen for a milk and some cookies. Suddenly a black beast leaped off the counter.  First the critter ran up the stairs to the deck door and finding it locked, headed down two flights to the front door.  It too was closed (obviously he had been here before and knew the layout of the house).  .  By this time I realized it was a large black cat.  About the same instant he must have recovered his wits and remembered that he entered through the bedroom window and leaped out.

I was happy to learn that my "night visitor" was feline instead of some rodent.  I was also happy that I was did not purchase any kind of rat trap.  Can you imagine the caterwauling if he had gotten his paw caught in one?  He also would not have been able to get through the bars in the window with the trap attached to his paw.  It would have been awful.  This may also explain the lack of rodents here.  Too many hungry felines roaming about.  I went back to Guadalajara Pharmacy but this time to buy cat food (yes I am a sucker for stray pets).  That night I put the food under the open window.

It was still there the following morning.  Perhaps I scared him more than he sacred me.  Or, perhaps he prefers garbage to processed cat food.  I decided to put  some on the roof.  If he was clever enough to get in the window, he should be able to figure out how to get on the roof.  It too remained uneaten.  Of course if it had been gone, I would have never known what might that eaten it.  Will I ever see "kitty" again?  Stay tuned!  Obviously, there is no photo of kitty.

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