What ate this??

It was a busy morning...
(Disclaimer - Don't be tink'n dat dell be a blog posted daily...We'll jus' see how't go's. {apply poorly-executed fake accent of your choice})

I've hosted the Bug Guy, done a laundry load of kitty-towels, updated the Ravellenic medals on the Blog (did you notice? {wry grin}), near-filled the weekly trash pickup with cut oleander branches, picked up the remnants of a broken beer bottle from the sidewalk on the side of our house {sigh-one of the many joys of a corner-house} and paused to ponder this sight:

This is nearly 5 feet from the ground in the towering wall of Prickly Pear and about a foot inside the patch.
??!!??   i.e. W.T.H.?!?
I thought only Javalina ate Prickly Pear cactus, but unless we've achieved "When peccary fly" there's something else munching on the Prickly Pear wall o'cactus.

Yep, after yard work was as done as it was gonna get ("full trash bin"), I came back inside and checked the internet to see What Eats Prickly Pear Cactus:

• Jackrabbits and Deer. {Seriously? I've seen coyotes in town, but never deer. And bunnies jumping up 5 feet to chomp cactus...Yeah, I don't think so.}
• "Galapagos Finches". ?? Waaaitt - this is a Monty Python Reference, right? {Sigh - YES (link to applicable "Holy Grail" scene reenactment {with Cats!} courtesy of Paul Klusman).}
• (I need to get away from WikiAnswers.) 
• Although - this one is interesting...but it seems to be from Australia: "Wood Rats" and "The Cactoblastas catterpillar""has all but erradicated PRICKLY PEAR from Australia where the catterpillar was introduced to control the cactus." (Ironic.)
• Ok, lemme find a reference not entirely based on random opinion or humor and possibly for my side of the globe.
• This one references moths/insects but the effect doesn't seem similar. 

Yeah, well, I'm a bit stumped. My best guess would be a bird is involved, but I'm at a loss regarding what kind of bird. 

The morning was also decorated with slumbering felines: 

Nikoli (top) and CooPurr (bottom)

Well, 2 slumbering felines...one was flossing his teeth on the handle of a paper bag: 

Gryphon (can you tell he's the youngest?)