Speaking of kitty cats, this site says that the Sanrio Character, Hello Kitty 
was derived from the maneki neko 
.
In Japan, the cuddly-cute and loveably pink Hello Kitty is referrd to only by her English name, and that name is a hyper-literal back-translation of the English translation of Maneki Neko, namely, “Beckoning Cat” — she is, indeed, the veritable “Hello Kitty” who lures people to spend their money on a variety of trinkets and toys. tee-hee! 
