People saying gender doesn't matter because they're animals just reminds me of how people used that excuse in the Transformer and Minecraft threads...
The MAJORITY of animal mascot characters are male, and when there's major female characters, they're often the same type of animal as the male---Amy Rose, Krystal, Dixie Kong, Babs Bunny, Minnie Mouse, etc.
I found Kazooie as a kid, and even more as an adult, to be such a great character because she bumped that trend---she was allowed to be her own animal, and wasn't a gender swap of a pre-existing character. It also helped that she was such a hothead and delightfully rude character that went against the usual theme of the female animal character being stereotypically girly and otherwise bland.