and the whole opposable thumb thing, he would have caved the fucker's head in at 0:48

(, Wed 14 Oct 2020, 16:55, Reply)
I think, not unreasonably, our narrator was too scared to bend down to grab a rock, lest the cat pounced. I'm sure he rued not acting decisively when he had the brief opportunity to do so at 0:48 for four very long minutes.
(, Wed 14 Oct 2020, 17:13, Reply)
He will be too big to be prey, so maintaining eye contact and backing off seems like the best option.
(, Wed 14 Oct 2020, 17:39, Reply)