Afraid I'll have to count myself out for now. None of the times I've heard so far would work for me. Would it be possible for me to lurk? I'd like the chance to get involved later.
If I could offer a bit of friendly advice, though—and when can I resist that?—it would be not to throw out the idea of a D&D-ized Numan just yet, Mello.
A new PC race is, of course, each DM's prerogative to allow in his campaign or not. Your approach of modifying the elven race seems to me as if it could produce a well-balanced result. Apologies for the focus on game mechanics; it's unavoidable.
Specifically, claws as "natural weapons" (rules for which are on page 7 of the Monster Manual) doing 1d4 damage each would be about as useful as a longsword or rapier at low levels. They would rapidly fall behind after level 5, since, unless the DM makes a house rule, they do not gain additional attacks and can only become +1 magic weapons. (Player's Handbook, p.234) Like the Elf's free proficiency with either the rapier or the longsword, this would be most helpful to someone other than a front-line fighter. I'd call it a fair trade.
Most of the other Elven abilities make sense for a feline race, and those that don't (detect secret doors, immunity to **82** spells, saving throw bonuses, and perhaps proficiency with bows) leave plenty of room for some more flavorful racial abilities. Perhaps tracking by scent, a talent for hiding and moving silently, a bite-and-pounce attack, or hind claws and a rake attack. But not all of the above.
As for their appropriateness in a D&D campaign, can't most ideas from space opera be converted to high fantasy just by changing the word "technology" to "magic?" From what I've seen online, the Numan are genetically engineered catgirls. Mercedes Lackey's Mage Winds books, for example, features a magically engineered catgirl who starts off fighting with tooth and claw and ends up with a magic sword. Another alternative might be to put the rest of them far, far away; jaguar-men from Maztica, perhaps, or tiger-men from Kara-Tur. Lots of people on Toril assume that anything they haven't seen before is an Evil Monster, which was how the first few Numans were treated too.
Whether you use the idea or not, have fun.
[ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: Ton Kyrion ]