Bestiary.us

How many people have heard of the cactus cat? Thousands of people spend their winters in the great Southwest—the land of desert and mountain, of fruitful valleys, of flat-topped meas, of Pueblos, Navajos, and Apaches, of sunshine, and the ruins of ancient Cliff-dwellers. It is doubtful, however, if one in a hundred of these people ever heard of a cactus cat, to say nothing of seeing one sporting about among the cholla and palo verde. Only the old-timers know of the beast and its queer habits.

The cactus cat, as its name signifies, lives in the great cactus districts, and is particularly abundant between Prescott and Tucson. It has been reported, also, from the valley of the lower Yaqui, in Old Mexico, and the cholla-covered hills of Yucatan. The cactus cat has thorny hair, the thorns being especially long and rigid on its ears. Its tail is branched, and upon the forearms above its front feet are sharp, knifelike blades of bone. With these blades it slashes the base of giant cactus trees, causing the sap to exude. This is done systematically, many trees being slashed in the course of several nights as the cat makes a big circuit. By the time it is back to the place of beginning the sap of the first cactus has fermented into a kind of mescal, sweet and very intoxicating. This is greedily lapped up by the thirsty beast, which soon becomes fiddling drunk, and goes waltzing off in the moonlight, rasping its bony forearms across each other and screaming with delight.

"Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods" by William Thomas Cox (452: p.27)

Once very common in the Southwest, and well-known in the Pueblo and Navajo country. Now practically extinct, living chiefly in the memories of the few remaining old-timers. At one time frequently seen in the great cactus districts, being especially abundant between Prescott and Tucson. Occasionally reported from Old Mexico.

The cat-like body is covered with thorny hair which grows particularly long, sharp, and rigid on the ears and tail. The latter branched in cactus fashion, these branches having scattered thorny hairs similar to those growing on the ears. The distal portions of the foreleg radial bones are formed into two sharp, knife-like blades which the Cat skillfully employs in making deep, slanting slashes at the bases of the giant cacti. He performs a number of these operations, always in a circular beat exactly 80 chains long. By the time the Cat has completed the circuit the sap exuding from the cacti first slashed has fermented into a sweet, intoxicating pulque which is greedily lapped up by the Cat as he makes his second trip. By the time he finishes this round he is pretty soundly pickled, and usually waltzes off into the desert, rasping the bony forelegs across each other as an accompaniment to delighted yowls.

In the earlier days when this animal was more common thirsty Mexicans often trailed him and would anticipate him in in making the second circuit. This practice became so widespread that it probably hastened the extinction of the species. Occasional cases have been reported where the Cactus Cat overtook the marauding Mexcan and flogged him to death with his spiny tail. Owing to the reddened blebs appearing on the victim’s hide, such deaths were usually attributed by the laity to a severe attack of prickly heat. But the oldtimers knew better. It was the Cat.

Henry Tryon "Fearsome critters" (453: p.9)