Bluto promises Olive some nylon stockings, an allusion to the wartime shortages of nylon and other essential supplies.
The tiger first shows a mouth full of gold teeth, still a symbol of prosperity at the time. Later, they are revealed to be dentures, another item that only those with means could afford in the era.
The comment about feeding meat not to the animals, but to the keeper, was a nod to wartime meat rationing that Americans endured on the home front.
The curious way alligators become immobile when their stomach area is rubbed is scientifically referred as to tonic immobility. It's a type of hypnotic state that is also exhibited in other creatures. The gator in this short also demonstrates the process on Popeye, with the same result.