Cat lover's deliveries of feline food keep getting stolen, so one neighbor goes out of their way to secretly replace her lost packages with expensive cat food: 'I'm no saint... but I just really hope that it was useful'

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Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Feb 3, 2026 12:00 PM EST

A good deed is its own reward. 

One of the things that people never think about when it comes to helping cats is how costly it can be. Feeding one stray cat quickly turns into feeding the whole colony, and those cats are hungry. The ones you can take in to your house you can, and then you have to buy extra litter boxes, litter, toys, and beds for them, on top of all the food you're still buying. Then you have to add in the TNR costs and vet fees… it adds up pretty quick. But we don't do it to save money, we do it because it's the right thing to do and if we don't do it, who will?

We don't know if you've ever tried to carry bags of cat food in bulk, but unless you're a bodybuilder, it's nearly impawssible. This is why most of us get our food delivered nowadays. But, the problem with deliveries is the possibility of them being stolen. It's the unfurtunate reality we live in that people would resort to stealing packages, because it's so hard to catch them in the act. If you haven't had a package stolen at least once in this day and age, consider yourself lucky.

In the grand scheme of things, if you stole the book we ordered, we would be upset, but not angry. But if you stole our deliveries of cat food, we would be feline furious. One cat lover, who cared for many of the neighborhood cats, wrote notes all over their building asking the thieves to please return their cat food, as it was costly and they didn't have the money to buy it again. Taking pity on this purrson and, after seeing their five cats look sad in the window, one neighbor went out of their way to secretly replace her lost packages with expensive cat food.

They didn't get anything from doing this, other than the satisfaction of knowing they did something good. We're sure both the cat lover and her kitties purrfectly appreciated this random act of kindness, and if we all did something like this every now again, the world would be a much nicer place. 

We hope this story inspires you to go out and do a good deed today. You don't need a reason to be kind. But if you do, trust that it will be given back to you tenfold in the future. 

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  • 01

    I secretly bought cat food for our downstairs neighbors

    Lovely sad cat sitting near his plate including 'Please return our boxes of pet food, we don't have any money'
    via Osobystist

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    My husband and I were travelling for a few days overseas, and when we came back, we saw a whole bunch of notices written on pieces of brown paper bags that said "please return our boxes of pet food, we don't have any money" all around our apartment complex.
    via mango_tiger
  • 03
    (Deliveries come to a main lobby area, and often get stolen!):) Now, normally im a bit of a skeptic, but I've seen the cats through the window every time we walk outside (there's like 5 HUGE kitties!), and i couldn't help but think about those cats all night long!
    via mango_tiger
  • 04
    The next day when we went grocery shopping, i ended up buying a big box of wet food cans (even though i have no idea what they eat), and i secretly put it infront of their door with a little note that said "i hope you get your boxes back!" I'm definitely no saint, and this is by no means a brag post, but i just really hope that it was useful to them.
    via mango_tiger
  • 05
    Wet cat food in open jars over pink background
    via mabaff's images

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 06
    I love seeing those cats through the window. I love cats in general. I want one sooo bad but my husband is scared of them lol.
    via mango_tiger
  • 07
    And we have a baby. But yeah! I really really hope that they end up using them because I was SO excited and nervous to give it lol.
    via mango_tiger
  • 08
    That's my secret little convo of the day!!
    via mango_tiger

  • This isn't the same, but literally yesterday, we saw an improperly delivered letter sitting outside our building's mailbox. If someone took the time to hand-write a letter just for it to get delivered to the wrong building just sat with us the wrong way. There was no way that letter was going to get to the right address on its own, so, we took it upon ourselves to deliver it. It wasn't even that far away! We found the address that was written, dropped it in their mailbox, and walked back. It wasn't much, but we truly hope they appreciate opening that lost letter.

  • 09
    RoseAlma I Only Hope THOSE also didn't get stolen !!
    via RoseAlma
  • 10
    ImpatientMaker I'm sure the neighbors greatly appreciated it. A few years ago we had a new fridge delivered to our house and I tipped the delivery person. His response, "Thank you sir, may God give you more." And that touched me so much that I am now much more generous than I used to be. It was truly a mind shift.
    via ImpatientMaker
  • 11
    Solid-Use-2926 The thief stole more than just food, they stole that family's peace of mind. You gave it back. You didn't just buy some cans, you answered a desperate plea written on a scrap of paper. Don't downplay this. Too those cats and their owners, you were the miracle they were praying for.
    via Solid-Use-2926
  • 12
    ImAlsoNotOlivia The cat gods smiled upon you today! (While also judging your outfit, or some other asshole cat thing!)
    via ImAlsoNotOlivia
  • 13
    Wrong_Pen6179 Helping really makes you feel good!
    via Wrong_Pen6179
  • 14
    Stuffedwithdates The thing about doing good is it makes you feel good.
    via Stuffedwithdates
  • 15
    MsSamm Hopefully, whoever stole the other cat food won't steal the food you left there. Could have rung the doorbell and ran away if you wanted to remain anonymous
    via MsSamm
  • 16
    Package delivery
    via RoschetzkylstockPhoto

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 17
    Even_Leadership_7831 It's wonderful that you did that! If the cats have tipped ears then everything is set. If not, please consider informing your neighbor about TNR.
    via Even_Leadership_7831
  • 18
    Birdywoman4 That is very kind for you to do that. I feed some ferals and so do two other people on my street. Kind for helping the cats and the people that got stolen from.
    via Birdywoman4
  • 19
    NoBSforGma Yeah, I can't stand thinking about animals being hungry. I would have done the same thing! Good for you, mangotiger, for being a good person and caring about those kitties. The world needs more of you!
    via NoBSforGma
  • 20
    Global_Loss6139 Thats awesome of you. Its the little things. If we all helped eachother out a lil the world would be a better place. Thank you.
    via Global_Loss6139
  • 21
    OctaviaLu Haha, that sounds like quite an adventure! Sometimes the little unexpected moments are the best part of the day.
    via OctaviaLu
  • 22
    Lolagi_ How incredibly kind of you! You're a good human and the cat distribution system will reward you with a floof of your very own.
    via Lolagi_

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random act of kindness neighbors expensive kitties cat food Cats animals cat lovers
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