Star Trek has a strange affection for cat-based aliens, starting with Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 1 “Catspaw” which features an alien disguised as a shapeshifting giant feline. Star Trek: The Animated Series leaped into the concept with both feet by creating not one, but two specific cat-like species: the Caitians and the Kzinti. That, in turn, has led to a weird flirtation with canon, as other Star Trek projects confirmed the Caitians as official while muddying the waters at the same time. As with most things associated with The Animated Series, the franchise treated them as a dirty little secret, and edged around their status even while periodically showing them onscreen.Star Trek: Lower Decks took them to another level with its Caitian chief medical officer, Dr. T’Ana. She quickly became one of the show’s most popular characters, while simultaneously letting it take a bite out of her species’ messy status in the canon. Thanks to her, their profile in the franchise is higher than ever, along with the plethora of odd quirks that accompany them. The series has also introduced a Kzinti character, Ensign Taylor, who has made numerous less prominent appearances as pure support. Both of them serve primarily to tweak the franchise’s nose about its “cat people,” and the way it periodically tries to have its cake and eat it too with them. But at the same time, it reflects Lower Decks’ deep-set affection for its animated predecessor, as well as lending legitimacy to the cat people’s decidedly odd history.Things get considerably more interesting with the introduction of the Kzinti, a similarly feline species presented as foes of the Federation. They first appear in Season 1, Episode 14, “The Slaver Weapon,” written by sci-fi author Larry Niven and based on one of his own (non-Star Trek) short stories called “The Soft Weapon.” He transferred the Kzinti along with the plot, making them the rare canon species that wasn’t created specifically for the franchise. The episode states that they fought multiple wars against the Federation in the past, and the titular weapon threatens the entire galaxy before Kirk and the gang save the day. The Kzinti are also a prime example of one of the show’s weirder details: animator Hal Sutherland was notoriously colorblind, leading to the species’ bright pink spacesuits.
Star Trek has a strange affection for cat-based aliens, starting with Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 1 “Catspaw” which features an alien disguised as a shapeshifting giant feline. Star Trek: The Animated Series leaped into the concept with both feet by creating not one, but two specific cat-like species: the Caitians and the Kzinti. That, in turn, has led to a weird flirtation with canon, as other Star Trek projects confirmed the Caitians as official while muddying the waters at the same time. As with most things associated with The Animated Series, the franchise treated them as a dirty little secret, and edged around their status even while periodically showing them onscreen.
Star Trek: Lower Decks took them to another level with its Caitian chief medical officer, Dr. T’Ana. She quickly became one of the show’s most popular characters, while simultaneously letting it take a bite out of her species’ messy status in the canon. Thanks to her, their profile in the franchise is higher than ever, along with the plethora of odd quirks that accompany them. The series has also introduced a Kzinti character, Ensign Taylor, who has made numerous less prominent appearances as pure support. Both of them serve primarily to tweak the franchise’s nose about its “cat people,” and the way it periodically tries to have its cake and eat it too with them. But at the same time, it reflects Lower Decks’ deep-set affection for its animated predecessor, as well as lending legitimacy to the cat people’s decidedly odd history.
Things get considerably more interesting with the introduction of the Kzinti, a similarly feline species presented as foes of the Federation. They first appear in Season 1, Episode 14, “The Slaver Weapon,” written by sci-fi author Larry Niven and based on one of his own (non-Star Trek) short stories called “The Soft Weapon.” He transferred the Kzinti along with the plot, making them the rare canon species that wasn’t created specifically for the franchise. The episode states that they fought multiple wars against the Federation in the past, and the titular weapon threatens the entire galaxy before Kirk and the gang save the day. The Kzinti are also a prime example of one of the show’s weirder details: animator Hal Sutherland was notoriously colorblind, leading to the species’ bright pink spacesuits.
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