Well, this takes me back: my mother, from Prince Edward Island, used to sing, "Oh, the cat, she had a kitten,/And the kitten had a pup;/I say, old woman, is your rhubarb up?" - just that much, as a mnemonic for Turkey in the Straw - just as she would sing, "Oh, the cow kicked Daddy" to get going on Miss MacLeod's. She was under the impression that "Oh the cat", etc., had been made up by some not-entirely-reputable local boys.