The common usage of cute seems to mean 'Ugly, but it's all right'.

Babies are ugly. Or to put it another way, babies are not beautiful. Wrinkled, mishapen quasi-functioning bodies. Babies are also mentally deficient. I'm not complaining. Babies are cute.

Bambi was cute. Too cute. Legs wouldn't work, mouth always hanging open, limited speech capabilities, and eyes the size of saucers. Those are the same eyes we give to aliens. But it was cute.

Horses are cute.... No, wait, they're not, are they...? Horses may be beautiful or majestic or all kinds of other adjectives. But not cute. Maybe baby horses.

Shetland ponies are cute. Legs shorter than their bodies. Hair over their eyes. Come up to your kneecaps. Cute.

Deformed overbred mutant animals.

Cute deformed overbred mutant animals.