The Cat’s Meow has a somewhat tangled numbering history. Issues from 1988 show both an earlier volume sequence and a new numbering system; the Samhain 1988 issue, for example, is identified as Vol. III, No. 5 and “New number Vol. I No. 4.” Some issues also repeat volume and issue numbers. Because of these inconsistencies, WAPPA uses the designations printed in the original issues rather than relying solely on repository metadata.

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The surviving issues of The Cat’s Meow currently located span Litha 1988 through Lammas 1991, although the publication clearly began earlier. The earliest located issue, Litha 1988, is already designated Vol. III, No. 4.

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The publication’s numbering became particularly irregular during 1988. Both the Lammas and Mabon issues were labeled Vol. III, No. 5, while the Samhain 1988 issue carries both an earlier designation and a new numbering sequence. Subsequent issues continued with occasional duplicate or unexpected volume and issue numbers.

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References within the newsletter also point to an earlier Witchaven Newsletter and discussions about developing a new format for the society’s festival newsletter, suggesting that The Cat’s Meow emerged from an earlier Witchaven publishing history. The exact relationship between these publications, and the original starting date of The Cat’s Meow, has not yet been established.