The ball-tailed cat (''Felis caudaglobosa'') is a
fearsome critter of
North American folklore most commonly described as having similar traits to that of a
mountain lion
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...
, except with an exceedingly long tail to which there is affixed a solid, bulbous mass for striking its prey. Tales of ball-tailed cats were common among woodsmen during the turn of the 20th century and many variations exist; two of the more prominent variants are the digmaul and the sliver cat. The latter is distinguishable for not only having a smooth-sided ball for knocking wayfarers unconscious, but in addition a spiked-side for piercing and grappling its victims.
[Cohen, Daniel. ''Monsters, Giants, and Little Men from Mars: An Unnatural History of the Americas.'' (New York: Doubleday, 1975)]
Ball tailed cat.jpg, Ball-tailed cat
File:Silver cat.jpg, Sliver cat
File:Dingmaul.jpg, Digmaul
References
Fearsome critters
Mythological felines
Cat folklore
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