The conversation was opened when Christine Yano, an anthropologist from the University of Hawaii, was corrected by Sanrio as she was preparing an exhibition for Hello Kitty’s 40th anniversary.
"Hello Kitty is not a cat. She's a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend. But she is not a cat. She's never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature."
"It is a 100-percent personified character," a Sanrio spokesman told AFP in Tokyo. "The design takes the motif of a cat, but there is no element of a cat in Hello Kitty's setting."
Now, what are the facts about Hello Kitty? Her real name is Kitty White, born in England on November 1, 1974, blood type A, has a twin sister named Minny White, and her parents are named George and Mary.
Here’s what’s shocking: She has a real cat pet named Charmmy Kitty
Image Credit: AFP PHOTO / Aaron Tam