I had a hamster once. He escaped. My ferret found him before I could. All I found was something that looked like a hamster skin throw rug.
On the cute kittens thing... I find two big factors appealing about cats and kittens. Their eyes, and their precociousness (not sure if that is even a word).
Cats are too smart. I would say they are plotting to enslave humans, but I think they already have. What other animal expects to get waited on hand and foot by humans and actually gets it?
Meditate on that little nugget, young grasshoppers.
Edit: Main Entry: pre?co?cious
Pronunciation: pri-\'kO-sh&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin praecoc-, praecox early ripening, precocious, from prae- + coquere to cook -- more at COOK
1 : exceptionally early in development or occurrence
2 : exhibiting mature qualities at an unusually early age
- pre?co?cious?ly adverb
- pre?co?cious?ness noun
- pre?coc?i?ty /pri-\'k?-s&-tE/ noun