Bill, you are bringing back things I should have thought of, of course I have heard of "Georgia Crackers" but since my mind has turned into sieve I guess that info sifted right on thru! The cat's family could have been from Georgia! I prefer to think they recognized the cat as a bit "barmy"! Not familiar with the "redneck" connotation.
And I live around a lot of them. Good ole boys!