It is the third film in Pixar's SparkShorts program, and focuses on a fiercely independent stray kitten and an abused pit bull, who form an unlikely friendship.

Sullivan said that the creation of the short had originated from her enjoyment of viewing cat videos, and Hendrickson stated that the traditional animation had proved to be challenging in the beginning.

[22] Sullivan first encountered pit bulls while "working in shelters during college" and felt they were "sweet, awesome dogs";[24] at the same time, she started learning that "there was a negative reputation around them".

Sullivan said that she had walked "around Valencia Street, looking for abandoned lots, taking pictures of little cardboard boxes in the weeds to imagine if a kitten would actually live in there".

[22] She said that since she had been very timid and had difficulty in forming friendships during her childhood,[23] she identified with the kitten, who, instead of creating a connection, preferred to remain in his comfort zone where he was not vulnerable;[20] the story centers on this idea.

[24] Sullivan wished to "give a voice to the voiceless" through Kitbull, and she hoped that the relationship between the kitten and the pit bull "can inspire empathy and compassion" regardless of "how scary it may be to step outside of our comfort zone to be vulnerable and connect".

[22] According to Hendrickson, she and Sullivan "partnered and began collaborating on the idea for Kitbull outside of work hours";[22] this had happened "a few years before the SparkShorts program was created".

She said that Sullivan had "built a YouTube playlist with hundreds of cat and dog videos" during the "pre-production" phase that had been "used as reference" since "so much charm and appeal can be found in an animal's nuanced movements".

Hendrickson said that since the short was hand-drawn, there were many challenges at the beginning, including "trying to figure out how to tell the story with the resources within the studio, and then taking this 2D project and getting it to fit back into the normal 3D process at Pixar".

[31] Kitbull has received a largely positive critical response, being regarded as "adorable",[32][33][34] "beautiful",[32][35][36] moving,[37][38][39] "sweet",[40][41] "amazing",[42] "emotionally tantalizing",[43] as well as "a timeless tale of unlikely animal friendships".

[46] Benjamin Bullard of Syfy Wire commented that Kitbull would "trash your animal-loving heart before the inevitable happy ending comes to the rescue";[47] he described the short as a "wordless gem that unfolds a details-loaded vignette through one heart-wrenching emotional roller coaster of a ride".

[6] PopSugar's Kate Schweitzer mentioned that Pixar had "truly outdone itself by achieving full-scale weeps in a matter of mere minutes" through Kitbull, and she characterized the short as "simple and sweet".

[48] Nicole Clark of San Francisco Chronicle said that Kitbull uses "unlikely animal companionship to tell a larger story about compassion, friendship and redemption".

[9] James White of Empire described Kitbull as "a sweet and beautifully animated piece" that uses "hand-drawn 2D techniques blended with all the computing power that Pixar can muster";[12] he felt that the short "explores a style unlike anything the company [had] produced".

[6] Jennifer Wolfe of Animation World Network commented that the short is "packed with hand-drawn goodness",[49] and Benjamin Bullard stated that it is "rendered in a super-rich 2D cel-shaded style".

[32] Dan Sarto felt that the short is "beautifully designed", and he said it is "hard to imagine this story being any more engaging or enjoyable had the filmmakers chosen to use any other animation technique".

[22] Sarto stated that "in an entertainment world dominated more and more by 3D, Kitbull exemplifies how 2D animation, in the right hands, telling the right story, remains something truly special", being "unequalled".

[46] WSET's Elizabeth Tyree said that Kitbull would "have you weeping within minutes of its start", adding that the short "could spark more conversation about the reputation of pit bulls".

[1] Kate Schweitzer also felt that the short "might even open up more meaningful conversations about the reputation of pit bulls being an aggressive and dangerous breed",[48] and Katelynn Sprague of 96.5 KPEL commented that Kitbull "sheds some light on this particular issue".

Michael Walsh of Nerdist stated that Kitbull presents "a story with fleshed-out characters" that go through "a meaningful arc, one that has us feeling all sorts of emotions".

[51] Benjamin Bullard said that the short provides "an anthropomorphized fantasy of how animals' secret lives can follow poignant beats we might never glimpse".

[52] Garrett Martin felt that Kitbull "is a powerful look at an unlikely friendship between a stray kitten and an abused pit bull that has the lifelike quality and emotional heft of the best Pixar and Disney animation".