Caitian

Quick Answers

What is the history of the Caitians' relationship with the Betazoids?

Historically, the Caitians, a feline humanoid species, had a predatory relationship with the Betazoids, a telepathic humanoid civilization, hunting and consuming them. This practice was abandoned centuries before the 24th century, with the Caitians creating a synthetic substitute for Betazoid flesh. By the 2250s, Caitians were part of Starfleet Academy, and by 2286, their homeworld was a Federation member with council representation.

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What was the significance of the Caitians in the United Federation of Planets?

Caitians, a feline humanoid species, were notable members of the United Federation of Planets. They were recognized for their intelligence, curiosity, loyalty, and aesthetic appreciation. Prominent Caitians include USS Enterprise-F Tactical Officer and Security Chief Commander Kyona. They had representation on the Federation Council since 2286.

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What was the Caitians' homeworld and its role in the Federation Council?

Caitians, a feline humanoid species, were recognized for their intelligence and loyalty. They were part of the United Federation of Planets since 2286, contributing to the Federation Council.

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What did the Caitians eat before developing a synthetic substitute?

The Caitians, prior to developing a synthetic alternative, hunted and consumed Betazoids. This practice was eventually phased out and replaced with a synthetic Betazoid flesh substitute.

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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. (LD: "Empathological Fallacies")

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. (DIS: "Brother"; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) Caitians were present on Qualor II in 2381. (LD: "We'll Always Have Tom Paris")

In the alternate reality, Caitians were present on Earth by 2259. (Star Trek Into Darkness)

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. (Star Trek: The Animated Series; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; Star Trek Into Darkness; Star Trek: Lower Decks; PRO: "Lost and Found")

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. (Star Trek: The Animated Series; LD: "Mugato, Gumato", "I, Excretus", "wej Duj"; PRO: "A Moral Star, Part 2")

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, even when already seriously injured. However, they were relatively sensitive to clingy heat, such as hot soup spilled on them. (LD: "Upper Decks")

The voices of some female Caitians had a soft purring quality. Agitated Caitians could also make a variety of cat-like hisses and yowls. (Star Trek: The Animated Series; Star Trek: Lower Decks)

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 stressed, Caitians enjoyed playing inside boxes. (LD: "No Small Parts", "We'll Always Have Tom Paris")

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. By 2381, they had switched to consuming Synthetic Betazoid. (LD: "Empathological Fallacies")

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):

Background information

The name of the species comes from a biography of Lt. M'Ress, published by Lincoln Enterprises in 1974, 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.[1]

Damon Lindelof has confirmed that the alien twins Kirk slept with in Star Trek Into Darkness were Caitians. [2]

According to Akiva Goldsman, Bjayzl from the Star Trek: Picard episode "Stardust City Rag" was originally intended to be a Caitian. [3]

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. [4]

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

• Caitian at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works