stardognine

That's the question. 🤔 So I rode back down the 12-mile hill from Golden Valley into Bullhead City again, and I'm sleeping (?) outdoors. It hit 115*F here today, so still pretty warm overnight.
Anyways, I'm sleeping on top of my sleeping bag, with no shirt, and something woke me up 3 times. It kept rubbing against my lower back, lol, right where you're kinda ticklish. 😲😁 The thing is, I never got a decent look at it, it was too dark, but I could see a good-sized patch of white, with lots of black. I tend to think a cat would stick around to get petted, but it could be feral & not used to people. 🤔 That's kind of hoping & being open-minded, but the only other likely critter, would be that possible skunk. Have I been cuddled by a skunk? 🤭🤔😲😁

BTW, even an idjit like me, learns after three tries, that something's amiss. 😉 I'm sitting up now, thinking about a coffee run. 😉

staehpj1

I am betting on it being a skunk. They aren't very shy and wander through camps pretty often. They are very docile and not aggressive unless they feel threatened. No sudden motions and generally care to avoid frightening them is a good idea, but otherwise they generally aren't a problem unless you have a dog with you or something. At least that has been my experience. All that said, Ive never had one brush against me when cowboy camping. That would probably unnerve me too.

Wilfred Laurier

Sounds like a skunk. My dog had an encounter with one while at the cottage this summer. He only got sprayed a wee bit on his ear so we brought him inside for the night with the intention of getting something to clean him with the next morning (Diet Pepsi is what was once recommended by a vet, and it works astonishingly well).
I was headed out to the outhouse later in the night and before I opened the screen door I saw the skunk was back. He saw me but went about his efforts to get into the garbage can. I tried talking to him and he looked back at me a few times but was completely uninterested in whatever I had to say. I raised my voice and he clumsily turned around and got ready to spray me so I closed the door and stayed inside for a bit. I just started making progressively louder noise to try not to startle him, and he eventually wandered off.

Skunks are generally not afraid of much because they don't have to be - most people and animals only need to get a whiff of fresh skunk juice once and will not mess with a skunk again.

However, they generally only come near people when there is a food source (usually garbage but they are notoriously not fussy. Make sure you store your food and any food-smelling items far away from your campsite as skunks are the least of your worries.

rumrunn6

she liked you

stardognine

LOL. 😁 Concerning the food issue, I did have about 3/4 of a Safeway meatloaf, well wrapped and sitting on a nearby picnic table. But that was never molested, except by me. 😉

indyfabz

One reason skunks wander close is that they cannot see beyond 10'. Their horrible eyesight is also believed to be the reason you see/smell so much skunk road kill.

A huge, blond one wandered through my campsite near Hyde Park, NY, a few years ago.

Steve B.

I’d doubt a feral cat will come near you. A previously owned stray ?, likely but then they would hang around to be fed and adopted.

Skunks are known to be friendly thus I’d bet on skunk.

stardognine

There's a little Mexican restaurant, right by the bridge that crosses the Colorado River into Needles, CA. The owner/cook is a really nice guy. He feeds feral cats, in the parking lot, and you can normally see several at once, wether they're eating or just hanging out. 😎

BigAura

From my experience it sounds like cat-behavior vs. skunk-behavior. I've seen skunks wandering through campsites, seeming rather aimless, but never approaching humans, once they are aware of you. Longtime feral cats avoid humans, but more recently lost-or-released cats do not. Some cats may in fact seek out human attention and/or handouts.

DropBarFan

If it was a skunk, kudos to you for staying calm--most folks would have flipped out I reckon. Once saw a skunk nestling in underbrush next to a suburban road, it was surprisingly big esp with the mop of long hair.

averybikes

def a skunk, yikes!

gna

I've petted some skunks--someone I know has de-smelled skunks as pets--and their fur is very coarse. Not much to go on, but coarser than stray/farm cats I've petted.