White Cat in the Forum Banner?

[Jaydencats]

A few days ago I received some Christmas presents (in February, yes ) from my uncle. He is a pilot so he flies all over the world, and last time he went to Japan, he brought some presents back for me! One present included was this tiny alarm-clock looking thing with a figure of a white cat on it. I was confused since my Japanese is not nearly good enough to read what it was, but I liked it anyway.

While reviewing my kana today, I noticed that the cat on the forum banner is the EXACT SAME cat on the present I got; everything matches. So who is this kitty, is he/she a character in something from Japan? I would very much like to know!

[becki_kanou]

It's a Maneki-neko (招き猫) or beckoning cat who welcomes visitors and beckons good fortune into the home or business.
Here's a fuller description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneki-neko