The Fourteen Clans of Cait are united under one government for the first time in their history in 2050, setting the stage for Caitian civilization as it is known today.
Cait would have remained a small, insignifigant planet had not it's system been rich in a rare element: Dilithium. This brought it to the attention of the local powers, including the Federation.
Cait's origins are steeped in mystery. The Kzin, the Regulans, and the Lyrans all claim that Cait was essentially a "Lost Colony" of theirs. Considering the similar genetic markup of the four species, those theories are possible. However, it is also possible that all four species were 'seeded' in that section of space by an alien race akin to the Preservers. However it was formed, Caitian culture evolved separately from the other races.
Initially, Caitians were a hunting people, wild predators on the savannah. However, what farming did to the humans, ranching did to the Caitians. The domestication of local wildlife turned the nomadic people into more sedentary people. As a result, culture soon flourished and in a few thousand years, civilization, based around the ranch principle.
Ancient Caitian legends also tell of a White Caitian, but no such Caitian has been born in recorded history.
