Little Fuzzy --- H. Beam PIPER (1904 - 1964)
Jack Holloway, a prospector on the planet Zarathustra discovers small furry creatures. These creatures are obviously intelligent, but are they animals or are they sapient? If they are sapient the planet will be declared a protected zone and the company that is developing the planet commercially will lose their exclusive rights to the resources... (Summary by tabithat)
https://librivox.org/little-fuzzy-by-h-beam-piper/