MANILA, Philippines — Curiosity killed the cat.

Well, not quite. It was actually Hello Kitty’s maker, Sanrio, that let the cat out of the bag when it revealed recently that its famous product was not a cat but a girl.

The disclosure came after Christine Yano, an anthropologist at the University of Hawaii, told the Los Angeles Times in an interview that she was corrected by Sanrio when she referred to Hello Kitty as a cat as she was preparing written texts for a museum’s exhibits.

“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. She does have a pet cat of her own, however, and it’s called Charmmy Kitty, ” Yano said.

Sanrio confirmed the news and revealed Hello Kitty’s official biography.

“As tall as five apples, and as heavy as three, Hello Kitty is a bright little girl with a heart of gold. She loves to bake cookies and play the piano, and dreams of one day becoming a pianist or maybe even a poet. She has a gift for music and English, and a soft spot for Mama’s apple pie. Hello Kitty and her twin sister Mimmy are the best of friends,” it said.