Wampus cat

"The howl of the Wampus on a lonely night will curdle a crock of sourdough. Phenomenally hard to kill, they carry in their fur the germ of blister rust. Under the influence of a full moon, the glare from their eyes starts forest fires. Their footprints are visible only in solid rock. They steal prospectors’ picks to brush their teeth."

They are extremely hard to kill, and powerful, and so rarely need assistance from others.

History
descended from prehistoric hardy, shapeshifting carnivorous slugs

Physiology
Human sized, sentient, catlike creatures with six legs and the ability to change their shape according to their talent and skill.

The "whiskers" of the wampus cat are in fact, tentacles. There are generally two sensory stalks above the eyes and four tentacles around the nose and mouth. The muzzle tentacles are used for fine manipulation, securing prey, and sense. The muzzle tentacles are capable of exerting extreme pressure and grip.

Society
Wampus have an independent, non social society, where individuals may form loose affiliations by family group and region. They are powerful and extremely hard to kill, and so rarely need assistance from others.

Wampus have an independent, non social society, where individuals may form loose affiliations by family group and region.

Powers and Abilities
Wampus cats are shapeshifting creatures and can hone that skill to reach high levels of malleability. Most wampus can disguise themselves as other similarly sized cats or creatures. With intense training wampus have been known to shape shift into humans (with vary degrees of passibility) or alter their size and physiology significantly, with one wampus able to disguise themselves as a prosthetic nose on a human ally.