Per kommentar genom andrewsi på frågan, är svaret Little Fuzzy , en 1962-roman av H. Beam Piper, som hade flera uppföljare under åren, med senast publicerad under 2012. Förutom den första uppföljaren kompletterades resten av andra författare.
The story revolves around determining whether a small furry species discovered on the planet Zarathustra is sapient, and features a mild libertarianism that emphasizes sincerity and honesty.
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Chartered Zarathustra Corporation (under Victor Grego), which installed basic services and colonial outposts initially, and now reaps the benefits of new discoveries, such as the valuable 'sunstones' mined by Holloway until he befriends a tiny, feline-like humanoid, nicknamed 'Little Fuzzy', and its traveling-companions
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The second book, Fuzzy Sapiens, deals with the newly 'Charterless Zarathustra Company' and its gradual cooperation with the planet's new governor to ensure control over the planet, while the Fuzzies attach themselves to individual human guardians including the Company's staff. It becomes clear that criminals are using the irregular status of the government and of the company to attack it and steal sunstones.