Heckuva way to wake up

Got the kids off on the bus and curled back up in bed to wait for Thing 4 to wake up. As we were dozing peacefully, I had just heard him starting to chirp when we were jolted out of bed by a blood-curdling scream. I hadn't heard a thud or crash, but my heart was pounding as I bolted out into the hallway to investigate. I found him sitting calmly on the stairs. "The kitties were scared," he said. I reported back to iPastor that all was well, if weird. "Cats don't make that noise." he said, and I was in agreement. It sounded like a woman screamed in my hallway. I think Thing 4 may have startled and yelped a bit as well, but I couldn't think of any other explanation. Oddly enough, the cats have never been that loud before, though they frequently tussle. I chalked it up to the younger one approaching heat, until iPastor called up from downstairs, "Well, here's the problem." as he found Fuzznut staring down a black and white stray in the living room. The doors were all closed, but we have some issues with the closers not working properly, so the newcomer may have taken advantage of a gap between the kids trucking out to the bus stop. iPastor got kitty shooed out, and we got our two little ladies calmed down. As he was breaking up the fight, the cat was moaning and yowling as they do, but I also distinctly heard it say "Meow." It sounded just like a person. Weird. Now Fuzz is kneading my lap and threatening to jump on the keyboard to put a stop to my blatant neglect of her needs, so I'd better get busy paying attention to her. Worse things to do on a January morning than love on a warm fuzzy cat.