bill the cat, or bill d. cat, is a fictional cat appearing in the works of cartoonist berkeley breathed, beginning with the comic strip "bloom county" in the 1980s and continuing in "outland" and "opus" in the following decades. bill also appeared in some of breathed's illustrated children's books, including "a wish for wings that work", which was also made into an animated christmas television special, and also on greeting cards and other sundry merchandise. bill was originally capable of speaking english reasonably well, but storylines featuring an automobile accident, repeated periods of drug abuse, and brain surgery have since seen the character transition to a nearly mentally handicapped mute state in which the cat's most frequent spoken sentiments are "ack!" and "thppt!" - the former a result of his regularly choking on hairballs, the latter an approximation of "blowing a raspberry".