Hi. I’m Mateo.
Didn’t I turn out nice? I was the sweetest kitten in the room, and I was very brave and friendly when the Mother of Cats first met me. The Mother of Cats absolutely did not want to get ANOTHER black cat on that afternoon (she kind of wanted a buff-colored kitten…), but I was so insistent that she really, really needed me that she finally filled out the paperwork and brought me home.
Today is National Black Cat Appreciation Day, and there is a day like this because sometimes people think black cats are unlucky and they get left in the shelter and don’t get a home like they should. That is just crazy, right? Look at how cute I am!! The Mother of Cats keeps telling me how good I am, and I AM! I’m a GOOD BOY, and every day, I get lots of attention and tuna because I absolutely deserve it. Also, I am really good at catching bugs, which makes everyone happy around here.
Okay, onto the sock that we have been helping the Mother of Cats get knitted this week.
The Mother of Cats can be kind of lazy when the weather is hot, so this is the sock without the ends woven in or the hole at the heel closed. Just ignore that stuff… isn’t it cute!! The sock has some extra ends that need to be woven in because Hannah kind of went wild and chomped the yarn into pieces twice, but the Mother of Cats still gave her tuna. I’m pretty sure that I should have gotten all of the tuna, but for some reason the Mother of Cats just lets Hannah get away with EVERYTHING when I have to get my claws trimmed all the time, and Hannah never does.
Oh, never mind about all of that. I was supposed to tell you that the socks are the Pressed Flowers Socks and that they fit really, really well with lots of stretch. Hey, I like that pattern and maybe it can also become a little knitted bunny for me to play with? I always can use a new toy and I just LOVE BUNNIES!! (Note from MoC: Mateo, you love to eat bunnies. No. No knitted bunny!)
Fine. I’ll just (sigh) play with the old toys that I already have.
This is Mateo, AKA the CoalBear, signing off.
Yarn, Books & Roses 
Howdy, Mateo ! – nice to see a note from you. 🙂 I’ll bet your mama was a bit taken aback at the size and .. erhmm .. shape you turned out to have !
MoC, them socks are damned fine !! – better than mere socks deserve to be, frankly !
I’m really pleased with how the socks are turning out. I was in no way prepared for that tail that Mateo has!
I would be too, Marilyn – they’re delightful ! Far too nice for socks – which are pedestrian items at the best of times (note clever double word play). [grin]
As for your 2nd child – not just the tail, but the winter mane !! He’s a small black lion !
He is very furry! I’m pretty sure that he is a Maine coon, but he is one of the smallest every known, I think. Under that fur he is a very small cat.
Knitted socks are great, and I’m always looking for warmer ones for the worst of winter. They are pedestrian, aren’t they, but when you have feet that turn blue they are like gold.
Beautiful sock! Now don’t you kittehs go messing it up.
I am keeping the socks away from Miss Hannah!
Such a handsome and regal looking cat. Having had 3 mostly black cats in my life I know they are pretty cool and not bad luck. We had a tortoiseshell one with a coat just like Mateo’s, it took some grooming to prevent matting.
I have had really good luck with black cats. So much personality! I had to buy a big claw-like dematting tool (with cutting inside edges) to use with Mateo because… so much fur!!
What a lush licorice fluffernutter with light lashings of vanilla cream is Mateo the Magnificent. As for the socks, they look so soft and pretty. You are an amazing knitter; however, with temps here of 111-115, I can’t get too enthused about that kind of foot insulation. In five months, though, it’ll be a different story.
That is way too hot!!! Oh my goodness, you probably can’t even bear the thought of a sock, and a cushy warm one would be even worse. When the worst of winter comes they will be worth it!
Mateo: I love *lush licorice fluffernutter with light lashing of vanilla cream” so much and especially the Mateo the Magnificent part. I am quite the cat!!
Actually, M the M is more licorice with marshmallow than vanilla cream. Enough purple prose for a black cat . Yes, he’s quite a photogenic moggy!
My, how you’ve grown, Mateo
I’m two years old now!!
You’re both such pretty kitties! You definitely deserve tuna.
We are sending her to the store to get us MORE TUNA today. She let the supply lapse, which is clearly kitty abuse! There had better be some new toys, too.
Psst…kitties…salmon…wild…canned…lower in mercury…reasonable…Costco.
Hannah and Mateo: we don’t eat no stinking salmon!
MoC: Yeah. I did try the cheaper stuff. Nope. These cats are sooooo spoiled.
As for the kitties not eating “no stinking salmon,” they – particularly M the M – should be grateful you have good vision. Otherwise, you might’ve mistaken M the M for a black squirrel, because of his luxuriant squirrel tail, and given both black kitties mushrooms, bark, seeds, nuts, fruit, insects, and a few other items they’d no doubt turn up their noses at.
Okay, now I’m just going to have a little rant… I had a flower pot on the deck with no plant in it and Mateo dug it all up and peed in it. I put it outside of the catio, and a dang squirrel dug it all up and planted the peanuts that the next-door neighbor gives it into the pot. I’m pretty sure that the two of them are in cohoots…
Rant away. It seems as if they’re both on the same wave length, but who knows? I can’t figure out my own or anybody else’s psychology, much less that of a squirrel and a cat that sorta resembles a squirrel. At least they’re good fun to watch, and the kitties can be snuggly.
Oh no!
Cute cats. Cute socks. I love all cats, but I love black cats the best.
Mateo, you are both handsome AND a good boy for sure!! You and sister Hannah definitely both deserve all the tuna 🙂
MoC, those socks are beautiful!
Thank you! I’m working on the second sock now with lots of kitty help!
“Help” 😉 They are such sweeties!
They are the best of help. They hang out with me no matter where I’m knitting.
That sounds really nice 🙂
Mateo is a gorgeous boy, but Hannah holds her own. You have two beautiful black kitties that apparently love tuna and you. Can I assume that Mateo comes from at least one parent with long, fluffy fur? So much to love and brush!
Our mutual blogging friend, MR, steered me to your blog because…cats! I am the Servant of Cats, at the mercy of their cries for love and food. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
I got your comment over the weekend while taking care of my son’s 3 cats (well, two kittens and a cat) along with mine. Yeppers. Total servant of cats!! My house was a total cat playground for the week! All 5 of these fabulous felines came from a rescue shelter in the Denver area and they were all from litters found in the spring by surprised home owners. Who knows what Mateo’s parents looked like, but there had to be amazing floof somewhere, right? Hannah is the best cat ever! She was my pandemic kitten, and had been returned to the shelter by a previous adopter who found she was too needy and crying in the night. Good grief. Obviously, those people didn’t deserve her! I count my lucky starts every day that I got her after that misadventure!
MR is the best, right?!
Rescue kitties are the best and so is MR!