Setting idea- If evolution had favored cats instead of primates

So partly as a thought experiment and partly because I don't see enough settings with sentient cats, I posed myself this question;

If cats had hit the evolution jackpot instead of primates (humans being the end result of that) what would be different? What would be the same?

Most Writers Are Human, obviously, so any ideas will be filtered through that lens, but here's what I have so far:

It's the front end of the Industrial revolution. Cat culture places a high value on individual accomplishments, and class divides are an important part of life because of that.

Individual names and family names must be earned, unlike human culture, and as the Industrial Revolution wears on the old rules for recognizing accomplishments worthy of a surname become increasingly out of place. Despite overall wealth increasing, the number of families with actual names grows at a slower and slower rate. And thanks to the status that a surname provides, the gap between the upper class and the under class continues to grow.

This is all I have so far for plot, but if you want to read my very messy notes you can find them here.

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Comments on what I've got so far are appreciated, but considering the early stage this is at I'm not sure how much that'll help.

What I'd rather ask you fellow tropers is this; How would you see a society that wasn't run by humans operating differently? What things would be different? Which things would be the same?

I'm still brainstorming, you can use as much or as little evidence as you like in your answers, and thanks very much to anyone who responds.

edited 30th Sep '12 4:40:47 AM by CleverPun

They would probably carry their grocery bags with their mouth.

edited 30th Sep '12 6:10:40 AM by m8e

Could you clarify what their physiology is like?;

• Did they gain better colour vision (cats can only see in two colours to a human's three)?
• Do they have effectors (i.e. hands or something which can be used as the same)?
• Are they strictly carnivorous (specialising like this would be a handicap for a sapient brain, which needs as much energy as possible, not to mention it would mean agriculture developed in a completely different way).
• Do they wear clothes as much as humans (being furry)? Did they lose body hair in the same way humans did compared to other primates?
• Do they still have retractable claws?
• How much variation is their in their fur/skin patterns?

• Did they gain better colour vision (cats can only see in two colours to a human's three)? - Nope
• Do they have effectors (i.e. hands or something which can be used as the same)? - I envisioned their dewclaw evolving to be opposable. Undecided on whether they're still quadrupedal.
• Are they strictly carnivorous (specialising like this would be a handicap for a sapient brain, which needs as much energy as possible, not to mention it would mean agriculture developed in a completely different way). - undecided, possible yes. Modern cat food has a lot of vegetable filler so I dunno.
• Do they wear clothes as much as humans (being furry)? Did they lose body hair in the same way humans did compared to other primates? - undecided
• Do they still have retractable claws? - yes
• How much variation is their in their fur/skin patterns? - a lot (as much or more than the modern housecat)

My original idea was that they're as close to their modern form as possible, and extrapolating sideways, but considering how different humans are from other primates I'm still thinking over that notion.

edited 30th Sep '12 6:46:29 AM by CleverPun