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6/29/2025, 1:39:06 PM
>>95975701
1/4
Well, what if they're not human? In my sci-fi setting, a species called the kyn is one I based off of housecats, not just in terms of being catfolk, but also in terms of social organization. As a result, they're matrilineal (ancestry is tracked through the mother's line rather than the father's line), have a tendency towards matriarchies, and while being a warrior or hunter is associated with masculinity in their culture, being a SOLDIER is for them a traditionally feminine pursuit.
"But wait," says you, "male housecats are bigger and stronger than females, so shouldn't they still be a patriarchy?"
Nope. Let's back up a step, and think about food, and specifically how obligate carnivores like housecats - and thus obligate carnivores like the kyn - could ever get a food surplus large enough to start building sedentary civilization.
It's not completely impossible to imagine; there's some evidence that the people of the Caral-Supe civilization in South America may have been able to have had a completely meat-based diet (in this case, fish like anchovies and other marine life). But it's definitely a major hurdle to overcome.
1/4
Well, what if they're not human? In my sci-fi setting, a species called the kyn is one I based off of housecats, not just in terms of being catfolk, but also in terms of social organization. As a result, they're matrilineal (ancestry is tracked through the mother's line rather than the father's line), have a tendency towards matriarchies, and while being a warrior or hunter is associated with masculinity in their culture, being a SOLDIER is for them a traditionally feminine pursuit.
"But wait," says you, "male housecats are bigger and stronger than females, so shouldn't they still be a patriarchy?"
Nope. Let's back up a step, and think about food, and specifically how obligate carnivores like housecats - and thus obligate carnivores like the kyn - could ever get a food surplus large enough to start building sedentary civilization.
It's not completely impossible to imagine; there's some evidence that the people of the Caral-Supe civilization in South America may have been able to have had a completely meat-based diet (in this case, fish like anchovies and other marine life). But it's definitely a major hurdle to overcome.
6/21/2025, 3:18:42 AM
>>95917294 >>95917303 >>95917312 >>95917319
But wait, there's more. I also put thought into how the kyn even got to real civilization instead of being primitives.
1/3
Cats are obligate carnivores, so a feline sapient species is going to run into some problems growing a large population. They will have to live as hunter-herders at first rather than hunter-gatherers, which will produce a lot less food and thus demand much smaller populations. It will probably take them a proportionately much longer time to develop agriculture since they don't benefit from it directly. The basis of their diet will have to be some kind of small, fast-breeding animal like rodents and chickens. It's also a LOT harder to store meat over time, especially if you aren't working with modern refrigeration technology. Food surpluses will be hard to attain for a long time.
I've been putting a lot of thought into this. My personal sci-fi setting has a full assortment of aliens I've made for it, and the one I like the most are called kyn, and they're felinoid, meant to be based on housecats moreso than anything else. I've been trying to figure out a logical way to get them from being primitive hunter-herders to the space age.
It's not completely impossible to imagine; there's some evidence that the people of the Caral-Supe civilization in South America may have been able to have had a completely meat-based diet (in this case, fish like anchovies and other marine life). But it's definitely a major hurdle to overcome.
But wait, there's more. I also put thought into how the kyn even got to real civilization instead of being primitives.
1/3
Cats are obligate carnivores, so a feline sapient species is going to run into some problems growing a large population. They will have to live as hunter-herders at first rather than hunter-gatherers, which will produce a lot less food and thus demand much smaller populations. It will probably take them a proportionately much longer time to develop agriculture since they don't benefit from it directly. The basis of their diet will have to be some kind of small, fast-breeding animal like rodents and chickens. It's also a LOT harder to store meat over time, especially if you aren't working with modern refrigeration technology. Food surpluses will be hard to attain for a long time.
I've been putting a lot of thought into this. My personal sci-fi setting has a full assortment of aliens I've made for it, and the one I like the most are called kyn, and they're felinoid, meant to be based on housecats moreso than anything else. I've been trying to figure out a logical way to get them from being primitive hunter-herders to the space age.
It's not completely impossible to imagine; there's some evidence that the people of the Caral-Supe civilization in South America may have been able to have had a completely meat-based diet (in this case, fish like anchovies and other marine life). But it's definitely a major hurdle to overcome.
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