> My guess is that both (cats and anime) hacked our visual network in a sense

It's not just cats. It's many furry mammals. But it's also most birds, which look completely different. And bees and bumblebees, even more different. To a lesser degree even some beetles and even turtles and frogs.

I would say a love of all of those is quote widespread, given how many of them are the main or major supporting characters of Youtube videos, movies, books and web novels and other publications.