Well, I'm getting the "this is an old topic" warning message but I just got here. 

I suspect the "cats" of the World of Spires (does this world even have a name? ) aren't the normal terrestrial variety. I'd hazard to guess they have larger brains from being around humans for millenia. I'd say the have an EQ between 5-7 (dolphins are slightly more than 5; humans slightly more than 7). This means our felines have larger heads than our contemporary cousins. Might explain their "inflated" self image.  Need an artist to do one right. It ain't me.