Hello Kitty is apparently not a cat according to Sanrio. In other news, Snoopy is confirmed to be a dog.
From the Los Angeles Times:
When (anthropologist Christine R.) Yano was preparing her written texts for the (forthcoming Hello Kitty) 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
Shocking news to which the Peanuts gang responded on Twitter:
We can confirm, Snoopy IS a dog.