I’ll leave others to determine its relevance to the OP, but I think the following video is obligatory at this point (possibly NSFW, if you work with prudes).
But Tom and Jerry aren’t sapient.
Neither are zombies.
Then how do they talk?
… And Goofy wears a swimsuit at the beach.
Obviously, sentient animals know it’s naughty to go around naked in public!
They talked **all **the time in their comic book!
Their fur coats are fine for day to day conforming with social mores. The fur doesn’t keep sand out of sensitive areas though. 
Wet suits.
It’s the Sixties. Take your pick. 
To hide the boners, duh!
They also surf who stand and wait.
Covering up the Bat Bulge. 
Uuuuuuuuugghhh. :rolleyes:
Comedy.
Although I could definitely see the Joker dressing like that when going to the beach.
Yes, they very much are. They make human-style plans. They’re in that genre of “secretly sapient,” where it turns out your pets/toys/babies/appliances/etc have a human-like life when people aren’t around.
Along the same lines, aren’t there cartoon animals who go around naked all day but then put on nightgowns and nightcaps to sleep in?
To indicate to viewers that they are going to bed.