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Cats have captured the human imagination time and again. Their senses are more acute than humans', their reflexes faster and their behavior is a mystery to the average person, all of which add up to an ideal candidate for the basis of an alien race. The same traits that once caused people to worship felines as gods are also the ones that often appear prominently in books, video games and movies. Whether they're enemies of mankind (The Kzinti), Allies(The Gambolts) or not associated with humans at all, cat-like aliens are one of the staples of science fiction.
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Named Feline Races
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.
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 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 are feline aliens who resemble lions 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 in the Wing Commander movie.
Feline Alien Research Troop - BoomBots (Video game)
The Torrans - Jane Palmer, The Planet Dweller
The Imkairi - Andrea Alton, Demon of Undoing
The Coeurl - A. E. van Vogt, The Voyage of the Space Beagle
The Runa - Mary Doria Russell, The Sparrow
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Unnamed Feline Races
Barton Paul Levenson - Rain and Revenge (short story)
Corpse Grinders - (Movie, 2002)
CyborGladiators (Tabletop game)
Reconnaissance - Bill McCay (Stargate SG-1 novel)
Earth Girls are Easy (movie)
Mari - Susan Krinard (novella)
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Other Feline Races
All of these are races which match some criteria but may not be technically both feline and alien.
Felis Sapiens are not aliens, nor do they look like cats. They are the result of cats evolving into a humanoid species. There are certain differences - for example, the catlike fangs and the fact that Felis Sapiens have six nipples - however at first glance, they are indistinguishable from humans based on physical appearance.
While several of the transformers characters had animal modes based on actual earth felines, the race as a whole is not cat-like.
Blinx: The Time Sweeper and his fellow Time Sweepers are also technically aliens, as they hail from another world. It is unknown whether the Time Sweepers are a race of cats who originate from the world housing the Time Factory, or a general name for workers who have been hired at the Time Factory and just happen to be cats. It is unknown if the employees of the Time Factory all hail from the same world, it is possible that the Time Sweepers were hired from many different worlds and time periods, similar to the methods used by the Eternals in The End of Eternity.
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See also
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