Wikipedia about Hello Kitty, under background:
“There has been some suggestion[by whom?] that Hello Kitty has its origins in Maneki Neko, and that the name Hello Kitty itself is a back-translation of Maneki Neko, which means beckoning cat in English.”
Wikipedia of Maneki Neko:
Maneki-neko come in different colors, styles, and degrees of ornateness. Common colors are white, black, gold and sometimes red. In addition to ceramic figurines, maneki-neko can be found as keychains, piggy banks, air fresheners, house-plant pots, and miscellaneous ornaments, as well as large statues. Maneki-neko are sometimes called the “Chinese lucky cat”, as it is also increasingly popular among Chinese merchants.”
Read the origins there also.
I will try and find my source again that claimed positively that Hello Kitty came from Maneki Neko. If you see the pictures, though, the cats are clearly being depicted in the same position.