Caitian

The Caitians were a spacefaring feline humanoid species and long-standing members of the United Federation of Planets.
==History==
Hundreds of years before the 24th century, Caitians hunted and ate Betazoids. After this practice was discontinued, the Caitians developed a synthetic substitute for Betazoid flesh. ()
Caitians were attending Starfleet Academy by the early 2250s, and the Caitian homeworld was a Federation member with members on the Federation Council by 2286. (; ) Caitians were present on Qualor II in 2381. ()
In the alternate reality, Caitians were present on Earth by 2259. ()
==Biology==
Caitians exhibited feline features, such as short faces, triangular ears, large eyes with vertically slitted pupils, whiskers, fangs, and a tail. Most were entirely covered with fur that could be orange, brown, gray, or black, and could also be solid, multicolored, or patterned. Some Caitians had four fingers (including a thumb) on each hand, while others had five. Additionally, the feet of some Caitians possessed a digitigrade configuration, while others had a plantigrade foot structure. There were also at least a few Caitians who had a very different, more Human-like appearance. (; ; ; ; )
When they needed to move quickly, Caitians could switch to quadrupedal locomotion, displaying feline agility and reaction times. They had sharp claws on their hands and feet, which led some to prefer going without footwear. Their claws could be used combatively, or to scale vertical surfaces, such as cliffs. (; ; )
Caitians possessed an extremely high pain tolerance, far more than most other humanoid species. Their bodies were also durable enough to withstand a phaser blast set to kill. However, their pain tolerance could be overcome by clingy heat, such as if they were to spill hot food on themselves. ()
The voices of some female Caitians had a soft purring quality. Agitated Caitians could also make a variety of cat-like hisses and yowls. (; )
Caitians experienced several hormonal cycles. One of these was the need to have sex once a year, or else their hormones would drive them crazy; this could be alleviated using a libido post. Caitian females had coital hooks as part of their reproductive anatomy. When ed, Caitians enjoyed playing inside boxes. ()
Caitians were mainly carnivorous, and skilled hunters. In the past, they had no qualms about hunting Betazoids, a fellow sentient race, for food. Caitian doctors took an oath not to consume their patients. Even so, they could still determine the specific presence of Betazoids just by scent and considered the smell to be delectable. ()
==Individuals==
;Named
*M'Ress
*T'Ana
;Unnamed
*Unnamed Caitians
==Appendices==
===Appearances===
A list of all appearances of Caitians (excluding the regular appearances of T'Ana):
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===Background information===
The name of the species comes from , published by Lincoln Enterprises in , which claims that the Caitians are related to the Kzinti, and were from Cait. This is corroborated by extensive commentary by Larry Niven, author of most of the Known Space books and virtually the entire Known Space sub-series The Man-Kzin Wars, primarily found in his short story books "N-Space", "Playgrounds of the Mind", and "The Patchwork Man".
From StarTrek.com, "The felinoid Caitians and the warlike Kzinti share common roots in the deep past — as do Vulcans and Romulans. As with the Vulcans and the Romulans, the two groups went their separate ways to develop as two entirely different civilizations. The Caitians are fierce warriors when so called upon, but pride themselves on their accomplishments in arts and philosophy rather than on the martial arts. Natives of Cait tend to be small and sinewy; the females are as delicately dainty as the Siamese or Abyssinian cats of old Earth. Their family units are extremely close."
The Lincoln Enterprises biography of M'Ress similarly expanded on the Caitians, stating that they tended to be small and sinewy, with their females delicately dainty.
Damon Lindelof has confirmed that the alien twins slept with in were Caitians. 
According to Akiva Goldsman, Bjayzl from the episode was originally intended to be a Caitian. 
===Apocrypha ===
The Caitians are expanded upon in FASA's Star Trek IV Sourcebook Update, which indicates that the feline humanoids seen in The Voyage Home were intended to be the same species.
The Last Unicorn and Decipher RPG books had to use the name "Regulans" because of copyright issues. 
M'Ress is also referred to as a Caitian in the audio story "Passage to Moauv".
Set in 2409, the computer game Star Trek Online features the Caitians as a playable species of the Federation faction, which also employs ships of unique Caitian design, e.g., the Atrox Carrier, Aspero Support Carrier, Shikaris Escort, and Stalker Stealth Fighter. According to their description, Caitians are "known throughout their quadrant for their intelligence, curiosity, loyalty and love of beauty". The game includes several Caitian NPCs, including Enterprise-F Tactical Officer and Security Chief Commander Kyona. It also depicts a species closely related to the Caitians called Ferasans, who genetically engineered themselves which resulted in some Caitians leaving their homeworld of Ferasa, settling on Cait and taking the demonym "Caitian".
In Star Trek: Lower Decks - Crew Handbook, T'Ana's Profanity being censored out is suggested to be the Universal translator being unable to properly translate such words from Caitian and, thus, replacing it with "beep"s.
===External links===
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de:~/Spezies/TAS/1x06/1
ja:カイティアン
Category:Species
Category:Felines