Hi. I’m Mateo.
I’ve been waiting and waiting for the day to come when I finally get out of the DOG CRATE!!!! This is horrible. Hannah is hogging all of the cookies, and the tuna, and she gets to go out on the catio, and I am either behind bars or locked up in the craft room with the Mother of Cats. She has all the good jumping places blocked off, and I don’t get to have any fun at all!!!!
She has been doing lots of stuff to make sure I never, ever get sick like this again. She bought treats for furball prevention. She bought some new grooming gloves and combs and stuff like that. She bought new food. She got some CAT CLIPPERS to trim down some of my fur. She got rid of most of her plants that stay in the house, and someday, soon, I will get to run free again.
The Mother of Cats has done all of these things, but she still worried about what might have been the cause of my bowel obstruction, especially since the vet said there was fur, hard things, and some green plant matter. She has gone crazy trying to figure it out…
The Mother of Cats brought Hannah back into the house, and Hannah immediately showed the Mother of Cats how she escaped… (Hannah… you are a betraying rat!!! The escape route was MY SECRET!!!!!)
As you can see, the window is right at the level of the rose garden, and by lifting the screen loose without putting a hole in it the Mother of Cats didn’t understand that it was a SECRET DOOR!! From inside the house it looks normal. She has been opening and closing that window a few inches every day to let a little fresh air into the house, and she never ever figured out what was going on until HANNAH gave the game away. Oh, boy, was the Mother of Cats upset! She had just given away a bunch of her plants…
Ha! I spent a couple of nights running around, snacking on the backyard wildlife and eating lots of grass without the Mother of Cats even having a clue of what was up. I came back into the house to grab treats and to take naps, and if she called me (tuna time!) I was always right on time. She was shocked to discover all the cushions knocked off the downstair loveseat the morning before I got sick (I was playing with my dinner…), and she wondered what killed a rabbit in the back yard, but still… clueless, right? It was the perfect gig right up until the moment that Hannah (THAT RAT!!!!!!) gave the game away.
Now the secret door is slammed shut. Hannah is the one that should be in the dog crate for being so unloyal, but no… I am still living there most of the day. The Mother of Cats is simultaneously relieved and furious about the little door to the great world outside.
Hopefully, she will be over it by Friday, which is when I get released from incarceration.
The Mother of Cats has ideas on how to kitty proof the window, but for now it is staying shut. Hannah is really disappointed that the good times are over. The Mother of Cats is threatening to make me sleep in the DOG CRATE at night for another week, and I’m not so sure that the surgical recovery suit is coming off yet.
This is Mateo, signing off.
Note from the Mother of Cats:
This Mateo’s Gotcha Day: I found him at a cat rescue shelter exactly 4 years ago. Doesn’t he look like a little CoalBear in his first photo?
Yarn, Books & Roses 
Mateo, you were the most adorable kitty – that’s the first time I’ve seen a photo of you in your childhood. Sorry, kittyhood.
Don’t beat up on Hannah – it would’ve been found one day, that escape route. My Boodie is an escape artist, too: but he’s had to remain indoors for several years, now, and has become used to it (I hope).
Never mind the donated plants, MoC – you know you can replace them. And it’s great that you are now on the qui vive, looking for possible new exits. 🙂 Best of all, you don’t have to worry about the Coal Bear any more !!!!
Mateo is just adorable, Happy Gotcha Day! Oh my, weren’t those kitties clever! Glad all that is sorted now and many hopes and purrs that everything goes smoothly from now on!
At the risk of repeating myself, there’s a reason Mother Nature makes baby animals so cute. Including you, Mateo. (Well, some exceptions do come to mind … baby birds in particular. Ugggly!) But you, Mateo … you are a good example of why I have a rule: Never go look at the kittens; never go look at the puppies. Because inevitably I’ll take one home.
Live long and prosper, Mateo!
What are you talking about, baby birds are ADORABLE! 🙂
I do agree, Mateo is very, very cute. And I was looking at local adoptable kittens and puppies online the other day… now I want to go adopt all of them, RIGHT NOW.
I just don’t find giant gaping peaks on tiny bald heads cute. Once they get feathers, they’re cute.
As for those puppies and kittens … can’t say I didn’t warn you. 😉 (But if you are determined, I’d suggest two of the same species so they can raise each other.)
I guess I’m just blinded by my love of birds, haha. 😉
And I would LOVE to have two kittens. The last time we got a cat, we made the mistake of getting one. Don’t get me wrong, she was great, but she would never accept a friend later on in life, so it is definitely best to get two together at the beginning.
Two kittens are so much easier, and a ton of fun!
Those really early baby birds are kind of ugly, this is true. I just love the young robins that arrive newly fledged in my yard, though.
They’re adorable by then. But still so helpless. I always worry about them.
❤
Gosh, was that four years ago
Love your “cat tales”. They are indeed so clever.
You’ve been through the wringer! I’m sorry to hear about the bowel obstruction and I’m relieved to hear that you caught it in time.
Cats are clever little beasts, finding ways to circumvent our best intentions to keep them safe.
Goodness what naughty cats having their own adventures outside and munching stuff he shouldn’t have. Pretty sneaky to have managed to hide it from you.
Oh my goodness, cats are so insistent on getting to where they shouldn’t be! But it’s good you found it out and can take steps. Hopefully your little CoalBear is on the mend and all goes well.
The really frightening thing is that I didn’t figure it out until just a couple of days before Mateo was due to come out of the age. He would have just headed outside to bunny hunt some more…
Thankfully you caught it in time and both he and the bunnies are safe!
Happy belated gotcha day ! I hope for him the suit can get off.
I sometimes wonder if all cats descended from Houdini…