Hello Kitty owners Sanrio say Hello Kitty is not a cat at all, never has been, and is instead a little girl — with whiskers, as internet users react

AFTER those behind Japanese icon Hello Kitty revealed she wasn’t a cat at all, internet users started questioning everything they used to believe.

Undated : Hello Kitty, Japanese cartoon character.

AFTER those behind Japanese icon Hello Kitty revealed she wasn’t a cat at all, internet users started questioning everything they used to believe.

The company has received thousands of comments from internet users who spluttered: “But she’s got whiskers!”

“Hello Kitty is a cheerful and happy little girl with a heart of gold,” brand owner Sanrio says on its website.

Hello Kitty's real name is Kitty White, she's not a cat, she's british. I bet mickey mouse is not a mouse. #childhoodruined

— 체리 앤 (@CherryAnne_23) August 28, 2014

The shocking revelation came to light when a Hawaii-based academic specialising in the epitome of “kawaii” (”cute” in Japanese) asked Sanrio to fact-check captions for an exhibition she was curating to mark the 40th anniversary of Hello Kitty.

Hello kitty of Sanrio not a cat. She is a little girl named kitty white. She is not from japan. She lives in london. — feeling amazed

— michael p. lagcao (@iliganonko) August 28, 2014

Christine Yano, an anthropologist from the University of Hawaii, told the Los Angeles Times that she “was corrected — very firmly” by Sanrio that Kitty was not a cat.

“That’s one correction Sanrio made for my script for the show,” the paper quoted her as saying.

“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.”

Setting record straight ... President of Japanese character business giant Sanrio, Shintaro Tsuji (R), smiling as he poses with character Hello Kitty (L).

And indeed, an inquiry as to the status — feline or otherwise — of one of Japan’s most famous exports confirmed her non-cat identity.

“It is a 100-per cent personified character,” a Sanrio spokesman said in Tokyo. “The design takes the motif of a cat, but there is no element of a cat in Hello Kitty’s setting.”

So, despite having whiskers, pointy ears and a feline nose, Hello Kitty is apparently not a cat. Never was a cat. Ok. http://t.co/hKklJMtDP1

— Darlene Rodriguez (@Darlene4NY) August 28, 2014

Her real name is Kitty White, he explained, and she was born in southern England on November 1, 1974. She is a Scorpio and blood type A.

She has a twin sister, Minny White, and lives in an unnamed suburb of London with father George and mother Mary, according to her profile on the web.

Not surprised about Hello Kitty. Tired of cats acting like they're people. Sitting on chairs. Not sharing their water.

— Honest Toddler (@HonestToddler) August 28, 2014

Despite her whiskers and pointy ears, just like the rest of her family, Kitty has her own pet — a “real” cat named Charmmy Kitty.

Looks like a cat ... Hello Kitty is not a cat despite her whiskers.

Her life story has always been there, the spokesman said, adding the personification is meant to make her fans feel closer to the character “as a friend”.

Web users were agog at the news.

“Hello Kitty is not actually a cat. MIND BLOWN”, tweeted @killedbydying

“’Sanrio confirms that Hello Kitty is NOT a cat.’ One of the many reasons why I have trust issues”, wrote @eisakuivan

“So Hello Kitty isn’t a cat? Everything I know is a lie,” said @nymbc.

Pretty stoked that Hello Kitty isn't a cat because I love cats but hate adult women wearing tiny backpacks.

— Twitnter is Coming (@OhNoSheTwitnt) August 28, 2014

Asked about the worldwide reaction to the shock revelation that Hello Kitty is not a cat, the Sanrio spokesman offered: “I don’t think anyone in Japan found it surprising.

“There is an explanation we have made the whole time, and I think that’s how people have understood it.”

“Once we found out Hello Kitty wasn’t a cat we lost faith in humanity and decided to get married” - Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

— samir mezrahi (@samir) August 28, 2014

The Sanrio spokesman explained that Kitty and her family were given no specific nationality but were designed to be living in Britain, because many girls in Japan had strong admiration for the Western lifestyle in the 1970s.

Pluto is 'not' a planet. Hello Kitty is 'not' a cat. I am 'not' sober. This is 'not' my house.

— Periwinkle Jones (@peachesanscream) August 28, 2014

Ever since the mouthless white character first appeared in 1974 on a coin purse in Japan, she has graced tens of thousands of products, from handbags to aircraft, in some 130 countries.

But just remember: she’s not a cat.

Goofy walks around in clothes and talks; Pluto is naked and barks. Yet still both dogs. Hello Kitty is a goddamn cat.

— Patrick Ness (@Patrick_Ness) August 28, 2014