One of the oldest human feline hybrids to walk the earth. In pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures their priests and shamans followed a tradition of donning the skins of jungle cats to "become" were-felines to enhance and expand their magical essences and increase their power.
Among the Aztecs, there was an entire class of specialized warriors dressed in jaguar skins, called jaguar warriors or jaguar knights. With new excavation technology scientists discovered they were not just mere myths and the genetic makeup of these creatures was seized.
Geneticist went to work producing variations of these fierce and agile feline creatures, optimizing their reflexes, grace and cunning stealth. Each varied creature having the appearance of cat like traits; such as cat ears, a cat tail, retractable claws, paw feet or other feline characteristics (ears, and tail are generally considered the minimum) on an otherwise human body.
Don't ever be sidetracked by their sometimes cute and cuddly appearance as that is usually their most deadly trait.