We have people having cosmetic surgery to look like cats today - here on Earth in 2015. No reason to think any other civilized species would be any different.
Next we need refrigerators, farms for all the pets and some plausible explanation why a 1,000,000 ton ship doesn't have any storage space of its own. But seriously, thanks very much for this. It is appreciated.
I think the Vidiians would be the most interesting story-wise as we could see how they have progressed. There are a lot of possible story arcs with them including a pre-existing internal faction split. The Krenim appearing, while interesting, could easily undo everything The Year of Hell represented. I know it sounds weird…