Why is there a village called "Cat Cat Bamboo" (猫猫箐)?
I found an answer while I was writing up the question &amp; figured I might as well share it.

Sohu has an article entitled:

你以为昆明的路名都是瞎起的？

in which they have an explanation of the name:

猫猫箐：在西山龙门西南面的山里，因为曾有虎豹（俗称猫猫）出没得名。此外，在嵩明县阿子营乡东南部也有一个猫猫箐，因“从前箐里有野猫出没而得名。”


They claim that the area used to have tigers and leopards that would emerge from the bamboo groves on the mountains.
I'm not sure about the assertion that they used to have leopards, though. In South Western Mandarin 猫猫 can definitely be a jocular term for tigers.
《成都方言》 has the following example:

猫猫 maomao ①猫。成都童谣：“～你不走，乖乖瞌睡有；～你不来，乖乖瞌睡来；～你不咬，乖乖要睡了。”②趣称老虎：～跑到村子里来了。亦作“花猫猫”。