The Traitor's Claw was a 23rd century Kzinti police vessel. It was officially recorded as stolen in 2269, but was in fact a privateer in service of the Kzinti government, in violation of the Treaty of Sirius.
On stardate 4187.3, Chuft-Captain and his crew lured the Starfleet shuttlecraft Copernicus to a small icebound world in the Beta Lyrae system, and took the shuttle's occupants prisoner aboard the Traitor's Claw. The Kzinti's goal was to regain control of a Slaver stasis box and the weapon it contained.
Damage after explosion of the Slaver weapon
The Traitor's Claw was severely damaged and her crew killed when the weapon's self-destruct mechanism was activated in close proximity to the ship. (TAS: "The Slaver Weapon")
According to D.C. Fontana, the pink coloration of the vessel was a result of director Hal Sutherland being color blind, and thus unable to discern it as anything but a shade of gray. [1] However, storyboard artist/character designer Bob Kline laid the blame on color director Irvin Kaplan. "Pink equals Irv Kaplan," shared Kline... "Irv was in charge of ink and paint, coloring the various characters and props (and he would do it himself in his office, he would sit down with a cel and paint it). He was also referred to by many people there as the purple and green guy. You'll see it in a lot of scenes, purple and green used together – that was one of his preferences. He made dragons red, the Kzintis' costumes pink. It was all Irv Kaplan's call. He wasn't listening to anyone else when he picked colors or anything." {"Star Trek: The Official Guide to the Animated Series", p. 26.)