Ya know, it almost sounds like a ring tailed cat, or miner's cat. They're all over the desert SW, but I've never heard of them being that far east. Their real name is a cacomistle. They got the name "miner's cat" because they're really bold and friendly, and miners kept them as mascots and to get rid of mice and rats in the mines. Here's a pic of one, but the one's I've seen didn't have that boldly striped of a tail; more like a raccoon.
