I'm looking for the name of a children's special that ran during the
Holidays of 1990 or 1991 (although it may not have been a new special
at that time). It was puppets, all dogs and one cat. The cat was on
his way to New York, but was in Newark (or vice versa) and the dogs
were mean to him, but finally took him in for the Thanksgiving meal. I
am ultimately looking to purchase this special if at all possible.

Could it possibly be "A Thanksgiving Tale" (1983)? It is a puppet
feature, although the main character is a turkey, and there is more
than one cat involved. But the description below, posted on IMDb,
mentions the Newark/New York confusion on which the story hinges. If
this is the special you remember, I haven't found any evidence so far
that this "Tale" was ever available commercially.

"It is the story of Tom, a nerdy turkey with dreams of show biz
success on the legitimate stage. He gets off his bus at the wrong
stop, and ends up in New Jersey. (When the bus driver said "Newark,"
Tom mistook this for "New York.") Tom hooks up with a group of cats,
who offer him a bed for the night. Tom doesn't realize their real
intention: To eat him the next day as their Thanksgiving dinner! A
group of dogs living in the same alley come to Tom's rescue. The story
of the conflict between the cats and dogs eventually mirrors the
traditional (perhaps, not so PC or historically accurate) portrayal of
cooperation and sharing between Native Americans and the early
American settlers during the first Thanksgiving."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185122/

that does sound like it! My, how memory fades with time, I forgot all
about Tom! Thank you.