Chapter 1 · The Fight Club Years

The First Encounter

Aug 25, 2026

Bug, a brown tabby stray cat, lying on a covered porch by a white column and railing.

Bug and Lady Bug are the reason we have 21 cats under one roof. Before we can properly tell the story of these two and their extremely fertile relationship, we have to start with Bug's adventures — because he came first. It was a rainy day in the spring of 2020. COVID was in full swing, and we were getting used to wearing masks and having more things — like groceries — delivered. We'd ordered groceries, and they'd been sitting on the covered porch for a few minutes after the delivery person left. When we went out to collect them, we found a small but furry butt sticking out of the bag with the deli meat. That's how we met deadbeat dad, aka Bug. He was scrawny and scared, but he didn't run when we came outside. He wouldn't let us touch him, but he didn't leave the steps either. We already had the OGs at that point, so grabbing him some food took all of 60 seconds — fresh water, some expensive canned food, and a handful of Nugs for good measure. We checked on him a couple times while he ate, and about 30 minutes later he was gone. He'd finished all the wet food and most of the Nugs. We felt good that he'd eaten and figured he was probably just passing through. Fun fact: it's not uncommon for male tomcats — especially unneutered ones — to roam 7+ miles a night. That holds true even for indoor/outdoor cats. A few days went by without another visit, so we kind of forgot about him. He showed up again about a week later, all messed up from a fight — bloody, missing some fur, a scratched-up nose. But he was hungry, and he ate well. We made him a bed on the covered front porch, but he left again shortly after eating. Was he somebody's indoor/outdoor cat? Were we just a stop on his trail? He definitely knew his way around, and he knew how to find us. At that point, we were just trying to make sure he wasn't starving and that he had a safe place to come back to. Little did we know how much this scrappy little stray would impact our day-to-day life for years to come.