Animal Class: Mammal
Diet: Carnivorous
Close cousins of Bobcats and Lynxes, Splintercats can be found living in the Pacific Northwest, the more Northern parts of New England, and Canada.
Just like ancient Pachycephalosaurs, Splintercats have a bony dome on the top of their head that is used in combat and self defense.
Splintercats also use their bony dome to hunt. They can use it to knock down large trees in order to get to creatures like Raccoons and Opossums or to kill large prey like Deer, Elk, Moose, Bighorn Sheep, and even Bison via blunt force trauma.
Ancient legends say that Splintercats are always in a grumpy mood because their constant headbutting gives them very painful headaches. However, this has been proven to be a myth as most Splintercats are very docile when unprovoked and their bony dome is thick enough to protect their heads from the impacts.
It can take over two years for the dome on their heads to fully develop and young Splintercats have to rely on their claws, teeth, and parents to protect and provide for them.
Splintercats are nocturnal and usually hunt at night. This makes it easier for them to sneak up on their prey and hides them from larger and stronger predators like Bears, Wolves, Mountain Lions, Sasquatches, and Werewolves.
They have been around since the early Pleistocene and their smaller size made it harder for them to compete with their larger Saber Toothed Cat and American Lion cousins, so it is believed that they evolved their bony domes to better compete with them. ( multiple Saber Toothed Cat fossils, many of which have broken sabers, have been found with injuries that could have only been inflicted by Splintercats)
Another unique feature that Splintercats have is the fact that they are the only species of Feline that are known to hibernate. However, they will only hibernate in the harshest of winters when food is extremely scarce.
Wild Splintercats only have a lifespan of around 14 years, but ones in captivity have been known to live into their 30s.
Splintercats got their name from the fact that they can shatter very large trees into splinters with a well placed headbutt.
Their bony domes are strong enough to shatter boulders and leave large indents in metal.
Extra Fun Fact: Bighorn Sheep are a primary food source for Splintercats and they will even had headbutting matches with the Sheep when attempting to prey on them. These matches can be quite comical at times.
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