[johnny]

@DK:

I think you heard the TV backwards. On the show they say "Hello Kitty has roots in maneki neko," not the other way around.

Also, there are several stories of what the cat saved the man from (and even several different men, too - sometimes he's just a man, sometimes he's an emperor or a prince or an important temple figure of some kind). I've heard the story told as a tree, a rock, or a bolt of lightning.

EDIT:

Yes, DO NOT DOUBT MY KNOWLEDGE OF USELESS TRIVIA! Seriously, like two or three months ago I was looking up the exact definition/origin of "anonymous" in my Mac's built-in dictionary and "anon" showed up so I clicked on it out of curiosity and POOF! Learned something new.