The media making  a big  whoop de doo over the fact  Hello Kitty is not a cat but a perpetual little girl and British third grader.  This is something we fan knew  all the time. It true she is around nine year old but in other manifestations she is protruded as an adult   for example  Momobery and Playboy collaborations .  If one  wants to get  technical, she is a  anthropomorphic   cartoon little girl, a furry. That is how this member of the furry subculture  got into collecting  Hello Kitty items.