is a comic song written by Harry S. Miller in 1893. "The Cat Came Back" has since entered the folk tradition and been recorded under variations of the title—"But the Cat Came Back", "And the Cat Came Back", etc. It is also a popular children's song.
The song is humorous in nature, telling a silly tale about "ole Mister Johnson" who had an "ole yaller cat" that he did not want, and when he tried to get rid of the cat, the cat kept coming back:
But de cat came back, he couldn't stay no long-er,
Yes de cat came back de very next day,
De cat came back—thought she were a goner,
But de cat came back for it wouldn't stay away.
In Miller's original, the cat finally died when an organ grinder came around one day and:
De cat look'd around awhile an' kinder raised her head
When he played Ta-rah-dah-boom-da-rah, an' de cat dropped dead.
Even then the cat's ghost came back.
The first commercial recording of "The Cat Came Back" was by Fiddlin' John Carson (OKeh 40119) in April 1924. Other early recordings include one by Philippine Fiddlin' Doc Roberts ("And The Cat Came Back The Very Next Day", Gennett 3235), on November 13, 1925.
The song was used as the basis for the 1988 short animated film The Cat Came Back by Cordell Barker.