Brushkats

Is it a plant...? Nope, it's actually an animal. Brushkats look exactly like little bundles of plant, little brushes, or bunches of flowers, but when they begin to move, its obvious that they're animals. Their eyes and ears are disguised as plant parts, as with their legs and feet and tails. Brushkats can vary in size and shape, and some species even specialize in looking like certain types of plants or flowers. They can change their appearances to coincide with the seasons, including being able to "shed" their "leaves". In case of being eaten, they have a nifty defence mechanism much alike to that of lizards: being able to detach their limbs and grow them back. Some brushkats can grow real fungi, which act more as an irritance to them, as acne is to humans. Some brushkats are also highly poisonous.

Habitat/Distribution
Seasonal forests.

Food
Carnivores. Are only capable of eating prey smaller than themselves.

Size
Varies. Can be large as a large bush or tiny as a bouquet of flowers.

Reproduction
Brushkats are solitary creatures, and only come together to mate. Some will mate in the traditional animal-style, while others-- Flowering Brushkats-- possess stigma and pistils, which house pollen grains and ovules, respectively. After the pollinating process is done, the seeds can be deposited safely near the mother, and grow into eggs. In the case of traditional sexual reproduction, however, mating can occur more or less anytime, and is often violent, with the male and female scrapping for position. Females have a monthly cycle wherein they give off chemicals that tell any nearby males that they are ready to mate. Pregnancy can last up to six weeks. In both cases, litters can be had of around five or six "kittens".

Temperament
Generally antisocial, and will attack anything that is too big to catch and eat, but will remain disguised and stay more or less completely still for anything that is likewise too dangerous. If the danger of being eaten is evident, they will scurry off after detaching the threatened limb(s).

Predators
They may be predators themselves, but that does not except them from the rules of nature. Small brushkats may be threatened by plant/berry eating animals like deer, baanz, or bears. Large ones by even bigger baanz or bears. However, their defence mechanisms are efficient enough that these threats do not endanger the species, but that the threats also manage to keep the species under control.

Mutations
None marked as of yet. It is difficult to ascertain any mutations because brushkats are already difficult to visually analyze.

Relatives
The feline or canine family, as well as the mongoose family.

Habits
None of notability. Brushkat kittens are playful and curious and sometimes refuse to stay still. Mothers are affectionate. Some people have made pets of brushkats, but it takes a good deal of skill with animals to pull this off-- not to mention those with a garden should take care not to let them outside.