Cat-like aliens

Cat-like aliens, or Felinoids —aliens that resemble terrestrial cats—are a common fixture in science fiction. They have become a common trope of fictional aliens, being seen in many fictional universes.

Feline aliens in fiction
* The Iskai - Blue Byte Software, Albion (Computer Roleplaying Game):
Iskai are similar to humans, though their evolutionary path must have originated with felines. They are generally taller and thinner than humans, due to the gravity on Albion being 90% of what it is on earth. The body of an Iskai is covered with short, dense fur, with longer patches over the chest and waist area, and a slightly different colour hair covering their heads. The face of an Iskai is mainly cat like, with two visible canines. Iskai senses are better than those of humans, especially their sense of smell. Iskai are omnivorous. Though called mammals in spite of living on another planet, they have a few physiological features that differ noticeably from all species of Earth mammals, such as an emphatic/telepathic forehead organ called a Trii and bony "claws" between their toes rather than at the end of them.
* The Oriani - Leslie Gadallah, Cat's Pawn (Novel):
A pacifistic race of feline aliens who are at the center of a mystery in the book Cat's Pawn. The mystery (and the plot of the book) follow the main character, a human, as he uncovers the Oriani's deep dark secret. Their homeworld is Orion.
* The Khanate of Orion - Steven V Cole, Starfire universe:
A race of humanoid felines that believes strongly in honor and fighting, the Khanate was the first empire encountered by the human Federation. The Khanate and the Federation clashed during Interstellar Wars 1 and 2, but new leadership and a common enemy during Interstellar War 3 brought the two enemies together as allies. They have remained on good terms since that time.
* The Hani - C. J. Cherryh, The Chanur Novels:
A race of feline-like aliens featured largely in the Chanur Novels (Chanur is the family name of the primary Hani characters. The hani most closely resemble lions, with manes and beards on both sexes. Their fur primarily comes in shades of red and gold. Their society is very clannish, each clan consisting of several females and young and one male. Only female Hani are allowed to go into space, males remain on their homeworld. The Hani homeworld is Anuurn. (The first book in the Chanur Series: Pride of Chanur was nominated for the Hugo Award for best novel).
* The Gambolts - Robert Asprin, Phule Novels:
The Gambolts are a feline species in the Phule novels, one of the three alien races that have allied with humans - they are briefly mentioned in the first book (Phule's Company) but no actual members of the species are seen until the third book (A Phule and His Money). Gambolts are known for being faster, more agile and stronger than the human recruits in the Legion, but are also possessed of many catlike traits, including the desire to chase and catch small moving animals. The Gambolt species is also referenced in the Timewalkers RPG at www.warboards.org and their description matches that given in the Phule Novels, with the exception of a few added fur colors.
* The Kilrathi - Wing Commander (Computer game):
The Kilrathi are feline aliens who resemble tigers but who have additional markings that identify which clans they belong to. Their society is an empire, the species itself having many warlike tendencies due to their predatory and territorial nature. They have appeared in every Wing Commander game to date, as well as making an appearance (slightly altered) in the Wing Commander movie.
* The Hrrubans - Anne McCaffrey and Jody Lynn Nye (Doona novels)
* Feline Alien Research Troop - BoomBots (Video game)
* The Kzinti - Larry Niven, Man-Kzin Wars:
Kzin (plural: Kzinti) are a warlike species that have colonized parts of Known Space close to the solar system. Kzinti were first introduced by Niven in the Known Space sequence of short stories, and a Kzin character "Speaker to Animals" was then featured as one of the main characters in Niven's celebrated novel Ringworld (1970). This portion of Niven's universe was then spun off into a separate series, in which other writers were allowed to set stories, the "Man-Kzin Wars" series. They also appeared in Star Trek: The Animated Series.
* Cynthians - Poul Anderson, Polesotechnic League:
About three foot tall, furry, highly matriarchal sophonts, companions of the humans of Anderson's Technic History. One appears as an employee of Nicholas van Rijn, more appear in Dominic Flandry's era.
* The Scrameustache - the main character from a popular Belgian comic series.
* The Sholan - Lisanne Norman, Sholan Alliance Series (novels)
* The Torrans - Jane Palmer, The Planet Dweller
* Treecats - David Weber's Honorverse
* The Imkairi - Andrea Alton, Demon of Undoing
* Ci-Kat-A - Swat Cats
* Ctarl-Ctarl - Outlaw Star - A warlike species which controls a sizeable empire. They appear humanoid but have brown/orange fur, large cat-like ears, and a tail. The Ctarl-Ctarl have superhuman strength and speed. They are able to increase their power further for short periods of time but doing so seems to consume a lot of calories and so they tend to eat large amounts of food; as much as eight times as much as an average human. They are also shapeshifters that can transform into massive white tigers, though this ability is dependent on the phases of the moon. They had been at war with humans for quite some time but at the time Outlaw Star takes place the two have a neutral stance towards each other.
* The Coeurl - A. E. van Vogt, The Voyage of the Space Beagle
* The Nephilim - Avernum game series
* The Runa - Mary Doria Russell, The Sparrow
* - Babylon 5
* Spacecats - The Brak Show, Space Ghost Coast To Coast, Space Ghost
* The Sisters of Plenitude - Doctor Who (New Earth/Gridlock)
* Lynxians - Atomic Betty
* Mrrshan - Master of Orion game series. An aggressive, warlike race throughout the series, often first to attack another empire. The Mrrshan are the only race to have an empress as opposed to an emperor in the first game, though they change to an emperor by the time of the second installment. They were also one of the few races to challenge the New Orions prior to Master of Orion 3, and where all but wiped out and were no longer playable. However, the player could recuit two Mrrshan leaders and incorporate scattered groups into their nation's population.
*Felysians - Noctis computer game. Sometimes spelled 'felisians'.
*Caitians - Star Trek The Animated Series
*The ThunderCats.
*The Aslan from the Traveller RPG
*The Tran, natives of Tran-Ky-Ky in Alan Dean Foster's Icerigger.
*The Felinefolk (Also known as the Fellpool) from the Star Ocean series.
*The Catians from Star Trek

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu