Fans around the world had a huge bombshell dropped on them this week, the news that Hello Kitty was not a kitty after all.

As child I had my share of Hello Kitty items, including stickers and notebooks, and the reason I loved her was because she was a cat, a cute cartoon like cat. Fun, friendly with a universal appeal Hello Kitty has been immortalized in every way possible, she even has her own airline EVA Air. How many cartoon cats can say that?

EVA Airlines

Sanrio said Hello Kitty is a “…cartoon character. She is a little girl…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..called Charmmy Kitty.” – BuzzFeed

Her name is apparently “Kitty White, she is a Scorpio, and loves apple pie.” Of course, how did we miss that. Oh wait.. maybe it’s because we were distracted by the cat ears, whiskers and paws?

So is it Goodbye Kitty? I don’t think so, to me she is and will always be a cat, and I am sure fans around the world would agree. I think we can all safely deny the silliness that Sanrio has unleashed and say Hello Kitty had a brief identity crisis before going back to her roots…or paws.

One other thing, if Hello Kitty is a little girl, what does that make her friends?

Hello Kitty and Friends