I'm surprised nobody mentioned the Ghatti's Tale, which is both Sci-fi and fantasy, plus telepathically connected cats who help serve as judges in cases that stymie local magistrates on a planet that earthians moved to after wrecking theirs/
I think the author also has a series with other animals and super-ish humans able to communicate with them, Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart comes to mind.
I should prolly put that in the dog thread, but meh, pretty sure I'm the only one who's read them.