Star Trek: 11 Things You Didn’t Know About The Kzinti
1. They Weren’t Created For The Show
Unlike every other alien on Star Trek, the Kzinti weren’t created for any of the series. They were created by renowned science fiction author Larry Niven for his Known Space universe and had their debut in the 1966 short story The Warriors. They subsequently appeared in other short stories, novels, and the shared anthology series The Man-Kzin Wars.
Niven became involved with Star Trek because Star Trek: The Animated Series story editor and show runner D.C Fontana was a friend and a fan of his work. After agreeing to write an episode, Niven pitched two ideas that were rejected as too problematic for the series.
D.C. Fontana and Gene Roddenberry suggested that Niven adapt Niven’s story The Soft Weapon from 1966. With some changes to simplify the story and make it fit into Star Trek, The Soft Weapon became The Slaver Weapon which first aired on U.S television on 8 December 1973.