Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper Science Fiction Adventure

<p><strong>Protagonist Jack Holloway lives a solitary life in a wilderness of planet Zarathustra itself owned by the Chartered Zarathustra Corporation</strong> (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. Upon discovery that the 'Fuzzies' intelligence may qualify them as a sapient species the Company intervenes against them on grounds that such a discovery would declare the planet a protected aboriginal zone and deprive the Chartered Zarathustra Company of rights to the resources there.</p>