In past The Elder Scrolls games, we've seen wild cats such as sabertooth tigers and cougars. We've also seen a tiger skin and a statue of a lion, so these must exist in the world of The Elder Scrolls as well. My question is: Are they some of the various breeds of Khajiit or just animals?

They're just animals. Khajiit are feline elves, not cats but rather too-close-for-comfort kin of the Bosmer.

I would believe that they are just animals, as other cats exist on Nirn besides for Kajiit. Primary example, in the novel Attrebus doesn't realize that the Aliq are actually Khajiit.

On top of all that; to my knowledge, all khajiit are of roughly human levels of intelligence, regardless of their shape. So, it's unlikely that some breeds will be just sitting around the countryside preparing to maul random passersby.

Oh, okay. I was just wondering.

At least one variety, the Alfiq, looks identical to a common housecat. It apparently is unable to actually speak, but is a powerful spellcaster and is just as intelligent or more so than the average mer or human, according to the book Mixed Unit Tactics.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Highwayman

Not quite. The "http://www.imperial-library.info/mwbooks/clanmother.shtml" that I believe you're thinking of, are not Bosmer but Ehlnofey. Khajiit are as related to elves as they are to any other of Nirns species, whether man, mer or beast.

That, I believe, is correct. It's the same as how Argonians look like lizards but lizards aren't just mini-Argonians. Of couese, Argonians have different origins from Khajiit, but the point is that just because they happen to look a bit like certain kinds of animals doesn't mean they're the same kind of lifeform.

Though, I'm not sure if "feline elves" would be the best description, since I'm not sure if the ancestors that Bosmer and Khajiit share were yet elves at the time, they just share ancestry with Bosmer (sadly.) but became a different race.

IIRC, Khajiit are actually Bosmer that were changed by Azura.

That's one story, an older one that's contradicted by other sources.

Correct. There is only one breed of khajiit that even resembles elves the rest are much more animal like.. Such as the Senche-Tiger, or Alfiq. There are a couple others as well. But for the most part they all resemble cats (whether big or small)