Morgan McDonald, Ladybug & Junebug
My parents ran a veterinary clinic together while I was growing up (my Dad is a vet and my Mom ran his business) so I’ve been around animals my entire life. Their clinic was basically our second home so my sisters and I saw and did everything from a super early age. We walked dogs, cleaned kennels and litter boxes, and saw all sorts of complicated cases when my parents would have to bring animals home with us for overnight care. I’ve never felt at home in a place where there isn’t an animal.
I rescued Ladybug from Flatbush Cats in 2019. I’d just ended a marriage and was restarting my life and my former partner had kept our shared cat, Reggie. I was heartbroken but knew that Reggie was in a safe, happy home and that this was an opportunity for me to give a good home to another cat. I saw Ladybug in an Instagram video and felt instantly connected to her. She had been rescued in Brooklyn after walking up to people up and down the street asking for help. She was tiny, only 4 lbs, and covered in open sores on her face and feet but thankfully my friends Sarah and Ed took her home and nursed her back to health. Ladybug was kind of a disaster. She was starved, had a distended belly that turned out to be the result of necrotic tissue inside of her, a dislocated hip, and had huge open sores on her face and feet which we eventually learned was due to a Cryptococcus infection. Crypto is a fungal infection that is uncommon in the NY area so it took several weeks to get her a diagnosis and started on the right medications.
After I’d shown my parents her videos and told them I was in touch with the rescue to adopt her, my dad said “she seems very sweet, but you know that you don’t have to adopt a disaster.” A few weeks later when I brought her home we bonded instantly. She was so sick and frail but would just sit in my lap for hours and purr constantly. We both had a lot of healing to do at that point and wound up being the perfect match for each other. She loves to cuddle and be held. I’ll often make eye contact with her from across the room and she’ll just start purring immediately!
About a year after I adopted her, Ladybug was much more active and playful and I thought that she’d benefit from having a cat sibling. I went back to Flatbush Cats and they had just rescued a friendly little gray girl who someone had put outside. I adopted her in July 2020 and named her Junebug. Funnily, Ladybug made it clear that my assumption about her was wrong and she liked being an only child . Since then they’ve learned to co-exist but they’ve never been friends.
Junebug has the funniest personality. She has these huge round eyes, so her nickname is Crazy-face, and my friends and family often just refer to her by this emoji: . Junie is my arms-length cat, because she hates to be left out and follows me from room to room, but also hates to cuddle. If she ever really wants attention, she runs to my bathroom sink and loves for me to pet her in there and will purr like crazy. But that’s the only place she ever really purrs.
Junebug and Ladybug look a lot alike and could not have more different personalities.
In 2021, I connected with a rescue called Cat Castle on Instagram and began fostering for them. My first foster was a little semi-feral kitten named Cricket and I loved the entire process from spending hours socializing her to eventually seeing her get adopted by a family who adores her. Since then, we’ve fostered 22 cats for Cat Castle ranging from super tiny kittens to super old, toothless cats.
Ladybug has never cared about a single foster. Every once in a while, a foster will try to get into her bed, or mess with her and she’ll strike back but they learn quickly to leave her alone and she just goes about her business like no one else is in the apt but me and her. June on the other hand is my wildcard. Some of the cats who’ve come through will bond with her quickly and they’ll play and nap together. But then others she just hates. And there is no rhyme or reason to which cat she will make her friend or her foe.
Even with their big personalities, I’ve been so incredibly lucky with how the Bugs have adapted to having new cats in their space. They’ll have little tiffs occasionally, but they generally just accept that there are new cats in the apt and just go about their lives. I know most cats are much more territorial and have a hard time accepting new cats so having them be so easygoing has allowed us to help so many cats and that feels amazing.
Our current foster cat is Goldfinch, and he is by far our longest resident. He’s lived with us for a year and hasn’t received any adoption applications. Older cats are always a little tougher to place and he is also FIV+ so I understand why he’s had a harder time finding a home. Goldfinch has always been friendly and social but about 9 months after he moved in with us, he decided that he loves to be cuddled. Now he crawls into my lap every time I sit down and will make biscuits and happily drool all over me. Seeing him so comfortable makes me so happy. While we adore Goldfinch, we’re all holding out hope that his perfect forever home will come along soon!
Morgan is currently preparing to graduate from Law School at Seton Hall. She previously worked in finance and tech but decided during the pandemic to refocus her career on the healthcare industry. In law school, she’s studied healthcare law and plans to pursue a legal career in the industry where she can eventually influence policy and increase access to care.