Mansfield's Catman Cafe Remembers Michael Cataldo

Michael Cataldo is being remembered by his friends. The owner "The Catman Cafe" in Mansfield died Dec. 31.

Steve Cerullo said that Cataldo was called the "Catman" not only because of his name, but also because he liked cats and his father (when Steve and he were growing up) always had Cadillac’s.

“He had a heart of gold,” he said. “Everybody who knew him loved him and loved his family. We grew up in Westwood together in the same neighborhood, everybody loved him. He was a great football player, he went to [Boston College] and was a great insurance agent, one of the top in New England.”

Steve Cerullo said Cataldo had a lot of medical issues during his life because of his football career.

“He was dealing with a lot of stuff,” Heidi Cerullo, Steve's wife said. “He was very friendly and very lively. He’d always make friends… he kind of lit up a crowd.”

Heidi Cerullo said that the Catman Café logo was actually nearly a caricature of Cataldo himself.

“It was loosely based on him,” she said. “A friend of his did that logo for us. His nickname was The Catman. [I first met] Mike when Steve and I first started dating. We’ve been very close friends for forever.”

Steve Cerullo said that Cataldo was a character, in and out of the business.

“We’ve been friends since six years old,” Steve Cerullo said. “He was the kind of guy who would walk into a room and he lit up the room. I mean, I’m getting phone calls from all over the country.”

Cerullo recalled that he and Cataldo had a plan that when they both retired they were going to go up and live together in one of the condominiums that Cataldo owned on North Main Street.

“We always talked about when I sold [The Catman Café] that we’d go and live together and hang out in our later years,” he said.

Funeral from the funeral home on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 9 a.m. followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Margaret Mary Church at 10 a.m. Interment will be at New Westwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Michael's memory to the West End House Camp, 105 Allston Street, Allston, MA 02134-5029