Felid (Catfolk)

Conservation Status:
Least concern (LC)

Scientific name:
Homo Felis


Common name:
Felid, catfolk

General Description:

Standing on average about 5'8 in males and 5'5 in females, Felid are a humanoid race that resemble anthropomorphic cats. Their features are a curious blend of human-like and cat-like, with a muzzle and whiskers and ears located on the top of their heads.
They have tails but they also have opposable thumbs and retractable claws. They're carniverous in general, though are known to eat pretty much anything they can find out of desperation. They like earth cats require a degree of roughage in their diets and a  small percentage of the population are not lactose intolerant.
They're covered in fur that comes in a range of colours and lengths, much like earth felines. Their eyes are usually amber or green but occasionally blue.

They live approximately 70 years and age at around the same rate as humans, reaching maturity at about 18 years old.

They're a resilient species who tolerate different climates well. They have fairly robust immune systems and are astoundingly agile. Felid can survive in almost any environment they put their mind to. They can survive great falls with apparently little physical injury and are masterful gymnasts and acrobats.
They have excellent night vision and sense of smell, they don't like overly strong odors as a result and bright lights hurt their eyes.

They are prone to fleeting attention spans and general aloofness. While Felid tolerate other species fairly well, they do not like to be treated as inferiors. Decades of subservience under the Canid rule has only served to reinforce their native pride. They can be seen as arrogant and unwilling to accept aid.

They have a fondness for collecting random things, particularly bits of string and straw. They love to sleep and everything shuts down during the heat of the day while the population take a siesta.

They prefer night to day, on their home world and colonies the majority of work is done during the twilight hours.

They are a race with no natural magic nor immunity.

Females go into heat and on average produce three kittens each pregnancy. Felid families are large, but their young are very self sufficient from a young age. Kittens are born able to crawl to a limited extent, though they're blind for the first month of life.
Felid raise large extended family communities and there's no concept of monogamy, one will have multiple mates in their life, often simultaneously and the children are raised together as siblings. One or two males will usually keep a half dozen “wives” and their children. Though incest is generally frowned upon, this only extends to those who share at least one parent. Cousins often have families together.
Theirs is a female dominated culture, the females call the shots and control the communities.

Felid have a culture of “gift giving” usually in the form of a small animal they've hunted and killed. It's considered astoundingly rude to refuse this gift of hospitality.
It can cause some friction with other species who don't quite understand why they're being presented with a carcass.

Felid love to hunt and fish, they also are skilled weavers and musicians. Though some would argue their music is an acquired taste.
They are exceptional dancers and have a great culture of such expressive art.

Felid generally dislike water, while some communities have been reported to enjoy a good swim, the majority seem to hate being wet. They groom themselves as a cat would but also with special brushes that imitate their rough tongues.

Place of Origin:

Originally from Felar, the Felid have scattered across the universe rather impressively. Their large litters and family groups combined with their survival instincts and robustness to different environments makes them very good colonists and traders.

History:

The Felid are still nursing the wounds of the war with the Canid, an aggressive canine race who tried very hard to wipe the catfolk out. Their campaign of terror was only stopped by united action by neighboring worlds and their atrocities committed against the Felid too numerous to mention. The Felid are a proud people who refused to be crushed by their oppressors, but the occupation of their homeworld for over a decade by enemy forces has left deep scars that may never heal. Women and children were taken from their homes, millions were slaughtered and even over a decade on, the Felid are still deeply hurt and angry about it all. They are trying to rebuild their home lands, removing methodically all trace of the occupation. They are left with a deep seated hatred for Canid and their collaborators.
The occupation destroyed any central government the Felid had, their colonies self govern and seem to do fine doing so. The colonies are treated as separate and individual groups and though there have been attempts at unification, right now, they are still a very scattered people.