Ball-tailed cat

Ball-tailed cat

Creature information
Other name(s)	Sliver cat Dingmaul Felis caudaglobosa
Grouping	Legendary creature
Sub grouping	Fearsome critter
Folklore	American folklore
Origin
Country	United States

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, except with an exceedingly long tail to which there is affixed a solid, bulbous mass for striking its prey.^[1][2] 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 Silver 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.^[3] The earliest written mention of the ball-tailed cat appears in Henry Tyron's Fearsome Critters (1939).^[4]

• 
  Ball-tailed cat
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  Silver Cat
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  Digmaul

See also

• Ankylosaurus, which used a club on its tail for defense

References

1. Tryon, Henry Harrington (1939). Fearsome Critters. Cornwall, NY: Idlewild Press.
2. Marshall, C. P. (21 January 2024). The Cryptozoology of Cats: Feline Folktales, Fables, and Fauna. Untold Publishing. ISBN 978-1-962340-78-6.
3. Cohen, Daniel (1975). Monsters, Giants, and Little Men from Mars: An Unnatural History of the Americas. New York: Doubleday.
4. Fee, Christopher R.; Webb, Jeffrey B. (29 August 2016). American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore [3 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-61069-568-8.