@riley Commodore Decker did say the Doomsday Machine had a maw -- which implies it had a paw, too (given the universality of binary gender in that era of Trek), which -- when taken together with the path of desolation it left in its wake -- does rather suggest that it itself was a cat.

Note how much better behaved it got when fed the proper food (one exploding space-shuttle -- only the best).

@dredmorbius