>>39940924It's up to debate, but in my humble view, I'd argue it is at least heavily inspired by cats. The feline face and tail, the obvious name (which is the onomatopoeia for a kitten's mew in Japanese), and its playful kitten-like behavior are all clues. To be fair, it also has long legs and tiny paws like a jerboa or kangaroo, so it could be described as a mixture of many different mammals. If you want a stretch, it's inspired by the re-cat-pitulation theory.
