Le-Matya headcanons:
I know that the wiki says that Le-Matyas are ferocious and will attack anything that moves out of sheer literal bloodlust, but my mind wants to say that they are actually social animals (this is somewhat evidenced by a few panels of a Star Trek manga showing groups of them) and, if taken in at a young enough age, can make very loyal pets. They tend to imprint only on their primary caretakers and their children, so there is no rehoming them, but those caretakers are regarded as family and will never be attacked. They are also intelligent and can be trained as protectors, much like Sehlats.
In addition, it is possible to remove the venom glands connected to the animal's claws without affecting the performance of that claw or foot, rendering them dangerous but not venomous.
The challenge with having a Le-Matya for a companion is obtaining and feeding them. Pretty much the only real safe ways of getting one are either being lucky enough to happen across a young enough orphan or to have the money to purchase a cub from someone with a breeding pair. In either case, they must be reared and bonded with by the family with whom they will spend the rest of their lives, which will often include some amounts of bottle-feeding with a high-protein formula. Even as adults, they cannot simply be fed table scraps. They need fresh, raw meat and blood. A lot of blood. Luckily, they aren't always picky about how their food is prepared, but in general, whole carcasses seem to be preferred if not live prey.
