[Vexx]

Any pack of Japanese women spotting a kitty and you'll be buried in squeals of "Kawaii!!!" The word hasn't "gone away", it is as mainstream as you can get. And it simply means "so cute I want to squeal". There's even official government entities that use the concept to boost tourism.

sigh ... "moe" is a feeling evoked in the viewer and though cuteness can evoke moe in the viewer, anything that evokes the "blooming feelings and desire to protect" has generated moe. There is no direct translation for it and as Irenicus says, it is valuable as an import word for that reason (the same as tsunami or sushi or umami).

There is an overlap of something cute can generate moe ... but people can be moe about things that other people don't find cute at all.