Krazy Kat first appeared in 1913, as a sideline to Herriman's "The Family Upstairs" strip. But Herriman loved cats (as well as dogs and most other animals), and a series of cameos by cats that could be the "Kat" him/herself appeared long before the Krazy Kat strip made its 1915 debut, as did other hallmarks of the strip.

In 1903, a Lariat Pete strip had a "Kat" with a bow as a guest.

In 1906, "Likewise Bud Smith" featured a similarly attired "Kat", hissing at a little dog.

"Rosy Posy, Mama's Girl" wasn't left out - this strip from the same year featured the same "Kat", nose tangled in a ball of yarn.

And that same year, 1906, Herriman's ZooZoo strip featured a familiar guest.

Kat appearances weren't the only foreshadowing of Kokonino Kulture - Herriman couldn't have missed this 1910 "Mutt and Jeff" strip by Bud Fisher - the question is, was George inspired by it?

In 1909, the "Kat" came back, this time to visit Herriman's "Baron Mooch". Not only did a familiar Kat appear, but his companion was a familiar goose.

"The Dingbats" strip eventually evolved into "The Family Upstairs", where Krazy and Ignatz made their first official appearances, but Krazy made at least one appearance here, as well. The "Kat" didn't know who he was shoving, but we might have a guess.

1913 marked the first occassion of a mouse throwing a brick - or something - at a "Kat". What marked this occassion as more than a cameo was the placement of the event, running along the bottom panels of a daily "Family Upstairs". This became a regular sideline to the story of the Dingbat family, whose noisy upstairs neighbors never actually appeared.