SplinterCat [Fearsome Critter]

• About this Critter: Have you been hearing thunder, but there's No Rain in the forecast? – Then The SplinterCat must be on the prowl! it smashes its oversized, rock-hard head against trees: on the hunt for Honey, Raccoon's & of course, young campers!!! - "it flies through the air with terrific speed and when it hits a large tree, it knocks the branches off, withers the trunk, and leaves it standing like a silvery ghost." Splinter cats although they behave similarly should not be confused with slivercats or the dingmaul.

• History & early appearances: it has the 'perfect attendance record' as far as critters go, it appears in Cox's Fearsome Creatures [1910], Yarns of the big woods [1922], and also Tryon's 'Fearsome critters' [1939] (but, it is not to be confused with the similarly named "Sliver cat") - in 1939 SplinterCat & (among other critters) where also humorously blamed for hurricane damage in Hartford Connecticut.

Depictions & descriptions of this critter, vary wildly between accounts, sometimes it's said to be nearly the size of an elephant, with a single eye, leopard spots or tiger stripes, other news articles mention that it might have wings and that it literally fly's through the air. others give it an arrow shaped face.

The Splintercat is one of few Fearsome critters with an actual location linked to it: Oregon’s “Splintercat Creek” was named after local sightings in the woods near the town's observatory. The town uses the fearsome flying feline as a mascot.

[Fearsome Creatures [1910]

(due to burnout from drawing so many ordinary-looking cats, I decided to base mine off of the slightly sillier version included in ArtChilds [1925] "Yarns of the Big Woods")

- in "Tenderfoot Tales" [1922] it is breifly mentioned that splintercats spawn from the leftover scraps of boats eaten by the boathound.

• Pop culture: A splintercat also appears in The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards. [1974] they also make appearances in various Paul Bunyan books & literature 

Sticker Art by @Samkalensky (yo thats me!) - Part of my Fearsome Critters and Cryptids sticker collection, weather resistant 4" sticker. Check my shop & follow @samkalensky for many more!