If I had to take a guess, I'd say parent training. When we see a cute animal, we want to cuddle and protect it like it's a child of our own. People talk to their pets like they talk to babies. Humans, in contrast to most other animals, require a lot of parenting to reach reproductive age. Taking care of a cat or a rabbit hones a decent amount of the skills that are required (later) in life to produce good offspring.

Yes this was covered in previous HN threads [1] and articles [2].

There was even a couple scifi writers that have even pushed cuteness + evolution + domestication idea. Richard Morgan's Thirteen is one example (I don't recommend the book however).

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12128840

[2]: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/19/kumamon-the-ne...

I think they have traits that set off the cuteness triggers we have for (human) babies - big eyes (relative to head), big head (relative to body), etc.

Maybe we are all pretty narcissistic. We like people who have the same opinions and thoughts as us. We also like animals that look "human".

Most don't mind having canned Tuna, but Dolphin meat is a no go.