Felis sapiens

Felis sapiens are a strange humanoid life form who evolved from a small population of cats within the ship Red Dwarf over millions of years.

The entire species evolved over 3 million years in the Jupiter mining corporation vessel Red Dwarf and originated from a pregnant cat, called Frankenstien, which had been, against ship regulations, brought on board.

This species began to worship the owner of Frankenstien, Lister, as their god, Cloister. They developed a religion surrounding the events of Cloister's life before he was 'frozen in time' for 3 million years. An example of this was that Lister had had a plan to start a doughnut place on Fiji became their vision of Heaven, which they named Fushal, and also their belief that the document Cloister gave to Frankenstien (in fact his laundry list used to line its basket) was of some cryptic meaning.

Because of the details of Fushal, the cats fought for thousands of years in the two faction of the ones who thought the Doughnut Diner hats should be red and the ones who thought they should be blue. The two factions each made a starship and they left Red Dwarf to try and find Fushal. The Blue faction, who were using the list as a star map, crashed into an Asteroid and the Reds flew on forever and were never seen again. only the sick and the lame were left which eventually died apart from one of their descendants, known as the Cat, which was left, probably the last of his species in the entire universe.

Physiology
Felis sapiens is a terrestrial species of sapient humanoids which have some resemblances to cats, such as their great sense of smell and sharp teeth. They are evolved from cats from Earth but have taken a strangely human route of evolution. This species has a heart beat and pulse which resemble Caribbean carnival songs and have six nipples.

In terms of appearance, Felis sapiens seem to resemble humans. However they are still known to have many common habits of cats, such as obsessions with sleeping and eating.

Origins
At some point in an unidentified century, a man named Dave Lister was serving aboard the mining starship Red Dwarf. He was caught smuggling his pregnant cat aboard, and consequently sentenced to 18 months in stasis. Unfortunately, during that time, there was a radiation leak that resulted in the deaths of everyone on board save Lister and the cat, who was safely sealed in the cargo hold when she gave birth.

Evolution
Somehow over time the species continued to reproduce and evolve. They developed a mythology centered around "Cloister the Stupid" (Lister), a civilization, and even their own style of writing based on different smells. It was believed that when a cat died, they would travel to a place called Fuchal (originating from Lister's plans to move to Fiji) where they would open a temple of food.

However, at some point, a the people began to dispute on the color of the hats that would be worn by those who worked in the temple of food, and a holy war broke out between the faction that believed that hats should be red, and the faction that believed they should be blue (they were actually supposed to be green). In the end they called a truce and set out to find Fuchal. The faction that believed the hats should be blue followed what they believed to be holy text (actually a laundry list) and crashed into an asteroid. The fate of the other faction is unknown, though it is possible that they eventually colonized another world.

Only a handful of Felis sapiens remained behind, and gradually they all died out until only one was left, at which point Lister finally woke from suspended animation.

Religion
The Felis sapiens created an entire mythology which originated from Dave Lister, the owner of the cat they are descended from. They worship a deity known as "Cloister the Stupid" (Lister), and believe that he shall lead them to the promised land of Fushal (originating from Lister's plans to move to Fiji). There they would open a temple of food (Lister planned to open a hot dog stand). Apparently it was also believed that Lister's laundry list was a star chart that would them to Fushal (the group that tried to follow them crashed into an asteroid).

Language
Despite evolving from a cat, Felis sapiens speak English. However, they have a very complex written language made up of scents. Letters are represented by specific smells, and to read one would run their nose along the page, and interpret the sentence based on the scent.