Hello Kitty fans are only just realising she’s NOT actually a cat

Hello Kitty is NOT actually a cat – and if that seems implausible to you, you’re in good company.

Fans of the iconic fictional character have been left scratching their heads after the creators claimed that she’s instead a little girl from London. 

Hello Kitty was created in 1974 by Japanese designer Yuko Shimizu, designed by Yuko Yamaguchi and is owned by Japanese company Sanrio.

She goes by the real name of Kitty White, is best known for her cute face, red bow on right ear and yellow nose – and was first seen on an adorable coin purse in the 70s.

Over the years, the global franchise has grown into her own animated series, comics, music, video games, theme parks, clothing collaborations and films.

Some of her TV shows include Hello Kitty and Friends, Hello Kitty’s Paradise, Hello Kitty: Super Style! and Hello Kitty Fun. 

She also boasts 6.2 million followers on her official Instagram account, which she shares highlights from her latest season of Hello Kitty and Friends Supercute Adventures, her collaborations, potential phone wallpapers for fans and events that she has been to.

In July last year, which marked Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary, Jill Koch, who is the director of retail business development at Sanrio, made a very confusing statement. 

Jill said: ‘Hello Kitty is not a cat.’

She continued: ‘She’s actually a little girl born and raised in the suburbs in London.

‘She has a mom and dad and a twin sister Mimmy, who is also her best friend. 

‘She enjoys baking cookies and making new friends.’ 

Jill went on to reveal that she weighs three apples and is five apples tall, has her own pet cat and also has a boyfriend. 

But fans aren’t having any of it and have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their thoughts.

‘I have never seen a human being with real life whiskers and cat ears. THAT IS A CAT AND I WONT BE GASLIGHTED LIKE THIS!!!’ 

‘She will always be a kitty cat to us.’

‘Ummm…I’m sorry no. She’s a cat.’

‘That’s confusing.’ 

‘Yeah a human has whiskers.’

‘She’s Hello KITTY. She’s a cat.’ 

Sanrio’s website states: ‘Hello Kitty was born in the suburbs of London. She lives with her parents and her twin sister Mimmy who is her best friend. 

‘Her hobbies include baking cookies and making new friends. As she always says, “you can never have too many friends!”‘ 

Sanrio previously stated that Hello Kitty was born in England and that she isn’t a cat.  

Back in 2014, Hello Kitty scholar Christine R. Yano, who is an anthropologist from the University of Hawaii, told LA Times that she was corrected when she referred to her as a cat. 

‘That’s one correction Sanrio made for my script for the show. Hello Kitty is not a cat. She’s a cartoon character. She is a little girl,’ she told the publication. 

‘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. 

‘She does have a pet cat of her own, however, and it’s called Charmmy Kitty.’ 

The professor went on to explain the history behind her, and also knows that she likes apple pie and her star sign is Scorpio.

Christine added to the publication: ‘She has a twin sister. She’s a perpetual third-grader. She lives outside of London. I could go on.

‘A lot of people don’t know the story and a lot don’t care. 

‘But it’s interesting because Hello Kitty emerged in the 1970s, when the Japanese and Japanese women were into Britain. 

‘They loved the idea of Britain. It represented the quintessential idealized childhood, almost like a white picket fence. 

‘So the biography was created exactly for the tastes of that time.’ 

Previously talking with BBC World Service’s Witness History, Yuko Shimizu – who left Sanrio in the 70s – opened up about the creation of Hello Kitty.  

She recalled to the Beeb: ‘I had a young, female assistant and I showed her both the front and side profiles, and asked which she thought was cute.

‘She said she thought the side profile was the cutest.’

Talking about her inspiration behind the character, she said: ‘When I was a child, I got a small white kitten from my father for a birthday present.’ 

Yuzo has gone on to create Angel Cat Sugar and Rebecca Bonbon.