In my experience (and I'm sure this varies by region) it's about 50/50 whether someone will call most animals or anthropomorphized objects "he" or "it". (Cats are a big exception in that they're usually "she" even from people who know it's a boy cat.) So for me "it" is just the most natural thing, with male-as-default being second and also problematic in its own way. Maybe someday I'll like a neopronoun.