In Robert A. Heinlein's science fiction novel The Rolling Stones, flat cats are a species of emotional symbiotes native to Mars, with very adaptive metabolisms. Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7 1907 – May 8 1988 was an American Novelist and Science fiction Writer. The Rolling Stones (also published under the name Space Family Stone in the United Kingdom is a 1952 Science fiction novel This article is about the biological phenomenon for other uses see Symbiosis (disambiguation The term symbiosis (from the Greek

They are small, furry, omnivorous, non-predatory, and flattish, and they purr, and make their potential predators sufficiently happy to tolerate their presence, and perhaps even to feed them. Omnivores (from Latin omne all everything vorare to devour are species that eat both Plants and Animals as their primary A purr is a Sound made by all species of felids and is a part of Cat communication. In the absence of food, they estivate (or hibernate) by becoming inactive and reducing their metabolism to extremely low levels. Estivation or aestivation (from Latin aestas, summer also known as "summer sleep" is a state of Dormancy somewhat similar For the ability of certain operating systems see Hibernate (OS feature Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression This is a survival mechanism that might very well be expected of a species from a resource-poor and environmentally strenuous planet such as Mars. When food becomes more abundant, they reproduce rapidly to take advantage of the more favourable conditions.

Because of the latter, flat cats are widely believed to have been the inspiration for The Trouble with Tribbles, an episode of the original Star Trek television series, in which tribbles display similar characteristics. " The Trouble With Tribbles " is a second-season episode of Star Trek The Original Series, first broadcast on December 29, 1967 and Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Tribbles are fictional animals in the Star Trek universe They are depicted as small soft and gentle and as producing a soothing Purring sound However, in David Gerrold's account of writing the episode, he states that this was not the case. David Gerrold, born Jerrold David Friedman ( January 24, 1944) in Chicago Illinois, is a Science fiction author who started his career

In David Alexander's authorized biography of Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek Creator, he writes that Desilu's research department had discovered the similarity and notified Heinlein. A biography (from the Greek words bíos (βίος meaning "life" and gráphein (γράφειν meaning "to write" is an account Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry (August 19 1921 &ndash October 24 1991 was an American Screenwriter and producer. Desilu Productions was a Los Angeles California based company jointly owned by American actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. According to some of Heinlein's personal papers, he felt that at some time in the past he might have considered legal action to block the show or force changes, but was too old now to really care. He also wasn't sure he could really say the concept originated with him. It may well have originated with the story Pigs is Pigs (1905) by Ellis Parker Butler about proliferating guinea pigs. Pigs is Pigs is a noted story written by Ellis Parker Butler. Ellis Parker Butler ( December 5, 1869 – September 13, 1937) was an American author The Guinea pig (also commonly called the cavy after its scientific name Cavia porcellus) is a species of Rodent belonging to the family Caviidae