The cactus cat is a legendary "

fearsome critter In North American folklore, fearsome critters were tall tale animals jokingly said to inhabit the wilderness in or around logging camps,Dorson, Richard M. ''Man and Beast in American Comic Legend.'' (Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ. Press, 1982.)L ...

" of the American Southwest. The cactus cat was generally described being a

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

-like creature, covered in hair-like thorns, with particularly long spines extending from the legs and its armored, branching tail. The creature was said to use its spines to slash cacti at night, allowing juice to run from the plants. On later nights, the creature was said to return to drink the now

fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

juice.Cox, William T. with Latin Classifications by George B. Sudworth. ''Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods''. (Washington, D.C.: Judd & Detweiler Inc., 1910)

References

{{American tall tales Fearsome critters Mythological felines Cat folklore