Kzin Society

Each Kzinti family consists of a father and his male decedents. The females are treated as property or favourite pets. Favoured females are protected because of the strong sons they bear and not out of personal devotion. Each noble keeps a harem large enough to fit his status and ability to protect. Most of the females are kept pregnant to maximise the number of heirs.

The Kzin social structure is similar to feudal Europe on Earth. The ruler of the empire is called the Patriarch, and he is the final arbitrator on all matters concerning the Partriarchy. Other hereditary names act like heraldry, identifying levels of nobility equivalent to dukes, barons, and similar grades. The current ruling family bears the Riit suffix at the end of their name. The Patriarchy calls the last war with Earth the "Fourth Truce with Man". The Patriarchy does not understand why they have not been destroyed or enslaved by their former enemies, and is unwilling to accept that the Kzinti are, in many ways, respected for their bravery and courage.

Kzinti Names

Unlike Earthly feudal aristocracy, any Kzinti can earn a name. The current Patriarch did not earn his title through great deeds (though his acts of courage are countless), but by challenging and defeating his father, the old Patriarch, in single combat. Courageous acts that advance the empire are grounds for a brave Kzinti to earn a new hereditary name to pass on to his descendents. A full name also means that the Kzinti is given a better education, land, a harem, and the right to breed.

A Kzinti that has not earned a hereditary name is called by his profession such as Speaker-to-Animals or Slaver-Student; these Kzinti often have tattoos on their ears displaying proficiency. Kzinti with partial names like Chuft-Captain represent intermediate recognition of noble birth, substantial service, or conspicuous gallantry. Addressing a Kzinti by his previous job-bearing title is a grievous insult

Kzin Government

Like many of Earth's governmental bodies, the Patriarchy keeps a great deal of information from its citizens, such as the secret to the Quantum II hyperdrive and the location of the Ringworld. Kzinti diplomats are often provided with these secrets, and many know more of mankind's relation to the Pak than most humans.

Kzin Religion

During the Man-Kzin Wars, a strange religious faction appeared within the Kzinti ranks, worshipping the ideal of Kdapt. Kdaptism preached that the Creator made humans and not Kzinti, in his own image. Though this religion was most often the venue of low-born families, there were a few Kzinti in the greater nobility who also subscribed to Kdaptism.

When Kdaptist disciples prayed, they wore masks of human skin in the hopes of confusing the Creator long enough for the Kzinti to win the war. Human psychologists suggest that hundreds of years of steady losses of their greatest warriors tore at the social and psychological infrastructure of the Kzinti race, who believed their destiny to be no less than domination of the universe. The disbelief created by the losses in turn created Kdaptism.

When asked for their opinion about this theory, Kzinti mutter something untranslatable in the Hero's Tongue.