BedCats - [Fearsome Critter]

Bedcats - [Fearsome Critter] - (Latin: Cimecofelis ferrignus)

• About this critter: Regular sized bedbugs (cimex lectularius) are an ever-present menace, especially to the lumbermen & miners of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. (As were gigantic mosquitoes, ticks, hoppers, bear-sized rats, among a slew of other pests & vermin.) Sure, science might say that a bed bug "needs just 3 bites to grow big" but the old folk knew the rapid infestation & nightly bites where ultimately Ol' Paul Bunyans fault, Sucking on the blood of a man with such a big presence must've caused them to grow not only in size, but also in cunning. So as a temporary solution, every night the lumbermen would roll their long pyjamas & bed rolls inside out.Time passed and the starving insects settled for attaching themselves to mice, which where eaten by bobcats (wolves, bears and so on) thing is; The bobcats are where the bedbugs truly prospered; The larger ones soon took to growing fur and in time they where prowling the woods in packs, making their homes in abandoned cabins. Soon enough cabins where teeming with 'em.

Since they looked exactly like a bobcat (but with extra legs, a total of 6.) Local trappers would sell their pelts on the market as a high quality luxury item. Intrigued by what seemed like a brand name "BedCats" and the warm plush fur, Lake Superior women would often use their pelts to line their nightgowns, oftentimes none the wiser of the faux furs insect origins. Ol' Paul must've been felt guilty eventually heput a bounty on the remaining bugs, they where wanted at $5 per pelt, soon they where hunted out to extinction, there haven't been any quite so big since...

• History & Early Appearances: The earliest illustrated appearance of 'Bedcats'  is found in "Ol' Paul the Mighty Logger" [Glenrounds, 1936] – Glen would have been just 30 (my age) at the time of writing.

by [Glenrounds, 1936] –

[a later bed cat, also by Glen, published in the 1976 reprint, he would have been in his 70's.]

Although 'Bed-cats' aren't mentioned directly in "Paul Bunyan's Natural History" [1935] "Bed-bugs" as a creature are notably addressed in the pamphlet's final entry, the short section on what 'bugs' were around camp, goes as follows:

"BUGS: Chiefly bed bugs and greybacks. The men soon got used to them and tolerated them. Wood ticks were in the brush but were out of date and inactive in the winter time."

In think including normal bugs as the final entry after all of the other fantastic critters listed, was incredibly anti-climactic (and funny.)

Bedcats along with the others, eventually became something of a re-occouring lumberwoods beastie, most frequently included in Paul Bunyan novels & related yarns and undoubtedly they would occasionally make appearances elsewhere.

Bedcats, where once again mentioned directly in "North Star Country [1945] by Meridel Le Sueur she also included a unique yarn where the bedbugs can speak:

The basis of "Ol' Paul's" story is again shared in Treasury Of American Folklore [1944] presents bit of a darker version of the story:

A bedcat bothering paul. [1960] Danny Kayes "Around the World storybook

Later, bedcats made their first news appearance in 1978 in an article advertising Walker D. Wymans "Mythical Creatures of the North Country" [1979] -

According to Wyman, "The Bed-cats were praised for their fur and there was a lively market for their pelts in the area along Lake Superior. ...There was a lively market for their pelts in Sault Ste. Marie, Ashland, Superior, Duluth, and other places..."

[Wymans take on the Bed-cat from Mythical Creatures of the USA and Canada 1979]

a more insectoid-bed-cat as seen in "Hoopsnakes, Hidebehinds and sidehill-winders, tall tales from the adriondacks" [1991]

Art Sticker & Creature Biography by SamKalensky (yo thats me!) part of my fearsome critters collection of stickers! if you enjoyed this deep dive, please consider supporting my patreon for more!