From The Motley Muse by Harry Graham, 1913.

From Scribner's 1877.

One of 38 Playboy bunny mascots in Thornton Junior College's 1959 yearbook (a phenomenon that goes unexplained).

From Needles and Pins by Mina Deane Halsey, 1909.

"'Any six-month-old kitten can talk,' the cat said. 'Why, then, don't they?'  "It just isn't done,' the cat said."

From And He Tells the Little Horse the Whole Story by Steve Barthelme, 1987.

From Chatterbox, 1889.

From The Life, History, and Magic of the Cat by Fernand Méry.

"Stop now."  From Owlglass, written and illustrated by Will Nickless.

From Owlglass, written and illustrated by Will Nickless.

From The Fairy Housekeepers by Norma Bright Carson and illustrated by Hazeltine Fewsmith, 1917.

From St. Nicholas, 1913.

The most literate tiger we've seen all week.  From Colorado College's 1904 yearbook.

From St. Nicholas, 1913.

From St. Nicholas, 1913.  See One-Letter Words: A Dictionary.

They all knew how to read the word "milk" and spell the word "mew."  From Dame Wiggins of Lee and Her Seven Wonderful Cats, Written Principally By a Lady of Ninety, 1923.