D&D has a loooo(...)oooong history with cat races. Starting with the tabaxi, in the 1e Fiend Folio, then the rakasta in Mystara and the Red Steel settings, then the catfolk (a renamed tabaxi) in Races of the Wild, up to the razorclaw shifter in Eberron and 4e (which can be described as cat-faced if desired).
Not to split hairballs, but I believe the Rakasta made their first appearance in the Isle of Dread in the D&D Expert set (blue box), some time before Fiend Folio brought in the tabaxi. Though exact years of release are not held in my brain-catalogue.
Neither here nor there, just sayin'. Booyah for felinoid races!
THUNDERCATS HOOO! ...oh, wait...wrong game...