Yep! They're Caitians, first seen in TAS.
Weird, somehow I've never heard of this species or seen one in another Star Trek series. From a cursory internet search that might be because I've never seen Star Trek: the Animated Series.
Supposedly the federation is a lot more diverse than humans with weird ears, noses or foreheads. Just that the old shows did not really have the budget and / or ability to make convincing, actually alien looking species. TAS can get around this by being a cartoon, modern shows use plenty of animation.
But even in TNG is a running joke about the cetacean officers that are always off screen of course. But supposedly there is a whole part of the ship under water where intelligent dolphins are doing their duties as crew members.
They even show up in Star Trek Into Darkness as furless cat girls that the writer claims are the same species even though they're clearly not. Memory Alpha dutifully lists them on the Unnamed Caitian page, but amusingly doesn't actually call them Caitians explicitly.
To be fair, the text never refers to them as Caitians, it's just the writer saying it in an interview.
Yep! There have been cat people serving on Starfleet vessels since the animated series, in TOS era.
Yes. Caitians have appeared in ST:TAS, ST:TMP, Lower Decks, and Prodigy. Kzinti, who are also cat-like, have appeared in TAS and Lower Decks.
Wait, so the cat person in Lower Decks is not a Kzinti? Also, I feel it's worth noting that the Kzinti are from Larry Niven's Known Space universe (because he wrote those episodes for TAS). I feel like it's about time some federation ship stumbled into that alternate Universe.
Kzinti are Star Trek canon.
Niven himself wrote The Animated Series (TAS) episode ‘The Slaver Weapon’, adapted from his short story ‘The Soft Weapon.’
Niven sees Star Trek as a separate universe or timeline, but it shares the Kzin with his own Known Space universe.
In Lower Decks, there is an ensign who is Kzin in addition to Dr T’Ana being Caitian.
Also, it was Niven himself, writing on the official Star Trek website, who put forward the view that Caitians and Kzinti are cousins, with the Caitians having settled on their planet Cait, and adopting a more scientific and technologically oriented culture.
In TAS, Lt. M’Ress was the Caitian second communications officer.
Caitians are cousins of the Kzinti, like Vulcans and Romulans.
Wow, I need to go eat something. I was just about to ask "when have we seen a Caitian in Lower Decks?"
