From decades small Japanese cartoon character ‘Hello Kitty’ has been considered as a cat, due to the pointy ears and cat-like name. But, the company recently revealed that it’s not a cat but a ‘little girl’.

A Hello Kitty trend expert and anthropologist Christine Yano says she was told sternly not to confuse ‘Hello Kitty’ with a cat. While preparing a script about Hello Kitty for a big conference, ‘Sanrio’ (the makers of Hello Kitty character) said it straight, media reported.

According to foreign media reports, When Yano was preparing her written texts for the exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum; she says she described Hello Kitty as a cat. “I was corrected very firmly,” she says. “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 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”.

This year, Hello Kitty’s 40th birthday is being celebrated in style in Los Angeles.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2014