Ringtail cats are members of the raccoon family and not related to felines in any way. To me they seem, in appearance and behavior, like a cross between cats and foxes. Though they are not uncommon around here, I've rarely caught them on my trail cams until I found this little canyon, where they routinely appear in nighttime videos. Until several weeks ago I've always gotten solitary animals, and judging from the size difference in earlier videos I assume this is a mother ringtail and her naughty little one. In all the videos the smaller one (they are now the same size) acts frisky and playful and very much tuned in to the other. In the video from which these snapshots were taken, the "baby" investigates my tub full of water while the adult laps from a small trickle in the rocks, then turns to ambush her, biting at her underside as she sails over it. [In a series of photos excerpted from videos last winter in this same canyon, a young coyote pulls the same stunt with its mother. Must be something in the water.]

They are much smaller than house cats, topping out at not much over three pounds, and half their length is tail. Miners used to keep them as pets to cut down on the vermin population; I even read about a tavern in Arizona that had a resident ringtail who lived inside way back when. It'll be interesting to see how long these two stay in each other's company. I like the location of this camera so will probably leave it where it is for many months.

I hope you find these guys as perfectly adorable as I do.