Feline transformation

The transformation of felines occurred twenty years ago when a comet passing by the Earth changed them into cat people. The cat people were humanoid in shape but retained several of their previous attributes, notably the ears, whiskers, tails and eye color, including breeds that have a different color for each eye. However, their fur disappeared, leaving their skin exposed, except for the hair on their head and tails. In some cases, their skin color changed to simulate their previous fur pattern.

The transformation also bestowed on them the ability to understand and speak human languages. As a result, cat people began wearing clothes and making decisions about how to live their new lives. Some chose to integrate into human society by attending classes, finding jobs and setting goals. Others chose to continue living as cats. Many of the larger breeds of felines such as lions and tigers have chosen to stay on their own due to their wild personalities.

Scientists have not determined how the transformation occurred, but many theories were shared on the Internet. Some of them include weebs taking over the U.S. Government and conducting research into creating cat girls but the transformation was worldwide instead of just in the lab, humanoid felines crash-landed on Earth billions of years ago and devolved into felines before the comet instantaneously reverted them to their original form, and that "some dumb baby" wished kitties were people when a shooting star passed by.

Background information
The theory about the government creating cat girls has its basis in the conspiracy theory shared online by Sedine Kilgarriff during her phase of being a social media influencer.