Animal Analogies in Makeup

In class Professor Freccero mentioned how the association of the feline with women could be an explanation for why women grow their fingernails in a long, claw-like manor. This can also be seen in makeup with the "cat-eye" look. With it, women make their eyes imitate the same shape that cat eyes tend to be, seen here:

 People constantly refer to how the cat-eye look is seductive and an easy way to look sexy, which makes it a very popular look for women. Could it be that it's considered to be seductive because of the way we view cats as nimble, independent, sensual, and mysterious, and these are also traits that we see as being "sexy" in a person? I'm also curious as to if these traits become associated to cats after the women-cat relationship came to be, or before (this leads into a question of why these traits become associated with cats)?