A meerkat container can be outputted directly by calling:

meerkat_create($input, $options = NULL);

The $input parameter should contain the text to be contained in the meerkat container.

The $options can either be:

- An integer ID value for one of the meerkat defaults
- A string value representing the meerkat defaults name
- An array containing meerkat defaults

If you would like to pass meerkat_create an options array, the following keys are 
valid:

$defaults = array(
  'css' => 'meerkat',
  'showMeerkatOnLoad' => 'false',
  'showclose' => 'true',
  'close' => '.meerkatclose',
  'showdontshow' => 'false',
  'dontShow' => '.meerkatdontshow',
  'dontShowExpire' => 0,
  'removeCookie' => 'none',
  'meerkatPosition' => 'bottom',
  'animation' => 'slide',
  'animationSpeed' => 'slow',
  'animationSpeedMilliseconds' => 0,
  'height' => 'auto',
  'background' => 'none',
  'usefooter' => 'true',
);

Here is a quick overview of the following keys:
- css: The class value for the meerkat container
- showclose: Whether to display the close button, 'true' or 'false' 
- showdontshow: Whether to display the dont show button, 'true' or 'false'
- animationSpeedMilliseconds: The time in milliseconds for the animation, this 
will override animationSpeed
- usefooter: For certain themes (like Garland) the meerkat container must be display 
in the footer section to display properly. 'true' or 'false'

For an overview of the jquery meerkat parameters, please visit:

http://www.jarodtaylor.com/meerkat/
