On the 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty, fans were shocked to learn that their beloved cat-inspired character is, in fact, not a feline at all — she's a little girl.

On Thursday, July 18, Sanrio — the developers of Hello Kitty — confirmed that the beloved character is not a cat during an appearance on the 'Today' show.

Hello Kitty is a girl, not a cat. Olivia Wong/FilmMagic Not only is Hello Kitty not a cat, she actually has a pet cat of her own, named Charmmy Kitty. One of the reasons the details of her canon ...

“Hello Kitty is not a cat,” Jill Koch, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Brand Management at Sanrio, told the “Today” show Thursday ahead of the brand’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

Hello Kitty -- despite having a name that's 50 percent devoted to the term that refers to a young cat -- is no feline. She is, rather, a little girl, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Well, not quite. Hello Kitty is never described as a "human", she's only ever described as a "girl". She is actually an anthropomorphised cat, which means she has human traits and feline traits.

Hello Kitty was first created by Yuko Shimizu in 1974. She made her first appearance on a children’s coin purse in 1975 and in the five decades since, the character has delighted millions across ...

So, it's settled. Hello Kitty is indeed a cat. Now that this case has been solved, join me next time when I attempt to figure out how Hello Kitty has made it to 40 without having a mouth.

Hello Kitty—a brand beloved by innocent children and sarcastic teenagers—is not actually a cat. This from Christine R. Yano, anthropologist and Hello Kitty scholar.

Hello Kitty was created with a life story. Her full name is Kitty White and she is a Scorpio who adores apple pie. But wait, there’s more. “She has a twin sister,” Yano shared.