2 newborn kittens abandoned next to coffee shop in box saved and adopted by cat loving cafe customer, growing his 10 cat fur family by 4 smol paws, cat dad says: ‘I legitimately panicked for a while; thinking about whether I should take them.’

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Jun 2, 2026 12:45 PM EDT

You never know when the Cat Distribution System will call on you to take in a cat or two, but whenever it might be, you'd better be ready. Something that this story's pawrent was most certainly not.

It is tough, you cannot possibly be expected to live your life in the constant knowledge that sometime soon you might be called upon by the Cat Distribution system to save a cat. But to a certain degree that is the burden we take upon ourselves as cat lovers anyway. Let's be honest, who amongst us who does not even have a cat has found themselves out and about with cat food at the ready to give to a stray in need of feed? Yeah, that's what we thought.

But when this story from Reddit's r/cats subreddit pawrent came across two cute kittens curled up in a box he was less than prepawed for the leap than he thought. Perhaps it was his late night and lack of sleep that knocked him off his game, but in the time it took him to deliberate what to do with the kittens in question they could have been half way down the next block. Well, not really, but it does give us food for thought about how we prepaw ourselves for the fateful day the CDS calls upon us. 
 

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  • 01
    / Can be sterilized 20 "Inside the box is a couple of teenie weenie kitties. That was the yelping I heard - it was their cry for help/warmth/food, I guess."
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  • 02
    It's Sunday afternoon here in SEA. I came home at 4.30am after a night out, slept for a couple hours, somehow woke up super refreshed. Felt like going for a morning stroll, but I
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  • 03
    had the odd feeling that I wanted/needed to take the car, as opposed to my c h rocket. I thought, ehh why not, I haven't driven the car in a week anyway - might as well go for a coffee drive.
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    Update: I just expressed and syringe-fed them. The black with the socks is definitely the easiest to feed, while the tuxedo is a bit fussy. Here's my other recent rescue, Marnee, checking out their hideaway (which has now been well-lit, and hopefully, warm enough for them): 1892 1000 000
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  • 05
    I pulled up to my usual coffee joint, grabbed my order and stood at the side of the road; sipping iced coffee while I watch literbikes and Kawasaki H2's and Porsches and whatnot buzz by.
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  • 06
    It wasn't long before I heard a very loud meeping yelp, typical of a young kitty. I thought, wait where did that came from? I looked left, right, front, back, up, down,... and saw that
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    TATATATATAVAT AAAAVA BARU EKONO
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    box in the first pic. I was like... Oh no. Oh he i naw. But yep. HI yep. Inside the box is a couple of teenie weenie kitties. That was the yelping I heard it was their cry for
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  • Honestly, we get this guy. Especially after a night out and very little sleep. It is not all too crazy for a cat lover to imagine that they are hearing the tiny sweet meows of a kitten. After all, when we are feeling delicate like that, what more could we want than to have a cute kitten or cat to dote on. So naturally the mind wanders and takes us to where we want to be. But in this case the kittens were real and the reality that he was going to have to step up and take care of them was setting in. Now to see what this cat lover decides it best to do with this cute pair of kittens. 
     

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    Cheezburger Image 10634864896
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    help/warmth/food, I guess. I legitimately panicked for a while; thinking about whether I should take them, which vet do I bring them to, can I take care of them...
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    First thing that came across my mind, amidst the mental chaos, was the vet I brought my rescues to. They were good and not particularly expensive, but a tad far. I looked up their
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    Cheezburger Image 10634865408
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    location on Google Maps to be sure. Okay, perfectly drivable. What next? What next? Do I do it? Do I not do it? Do I realize that this might potentially turn into a
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    long-term commitment, or god forbid, they take a turn for the worse? It took me a bit of pacing back and forth and finishing my coffee before I thought, fk this slt,
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    Cheezburger Image 10634865152
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    I'm bringing them. I put them, still on the box, in my passenger floorwell. As I was driving away from the coffee shop, I remember one of my biker friends (who happens to be a crazy
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  • Ah see, we knew this feline fan would end up doing the right thing. It is a crying shame but when it comes to cats on the street there is often little that shelter can do, especially when they require special care. So it is usually for the best that a cat lover comes by and takes ownership of the situation, resting the responsibility of caring for these kittens squarely on their shoulders. A place that they know is safe and dependable. Just as these kittens find themselves in. sure there is a long way yet to go from here, but at least these cuties will be safe and sound. 
     

  • 17
    Nofrizo
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    cat dude and a father of 13 or so beautiful cats; beating my own count of 10 lovely kitties) happened to be hanging out just a few blocks away. I pulled up to him, asked him to jump
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    into the car, and asked if he'd ride along to the vet. Thankfully he was more than willing to. The vet determined that they're both boys, approximately a week old. She taught
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    Cheezburger Image 10634864640
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    me how to express them before and after feeding them, as well as how to syringe- feed them the special kitten milk. They're a bit low on temperature (IIRC they were both at around 35°C), so she
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    recommended that I warm them up, but they're okay otherwise no ticks or anything. The vet then sent me away with a couple of small syringes and some kitten milk powder.
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    Cheezburger Image 10634866176
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    From the vet, I stopped at pretty much every hardware store I came across. None had filament bulbs in stock, all they had were LEDs. I was close to giving up, but I decided I'd go home first, house them somewhere
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    comfortable and safe, then continue the search. At home, I told my mom about the whole ordeal, and how I was unable to find filament bulbs to keep them warm, and that I'd probably have to order them online.
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    e / Can be sterilized 10 -20-
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    She then pointed to the standing light fixture at the far end of the living room — which had 4 filament E27 bulbs, all bright and warm. If that isn't the universe lining up in my favor, I don't know what is.
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  • 28
    I brought the kitties into my room and put them in a diaper pad- lined carrier, while I had my brother run to the closest hardware store to get E27 fittings and some wires and plugs.
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    Cheezburger Image 10634866688
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    As I'm finishing typing this post, I'm gonna get a shower, then probably a couple hours of shut-eye, before feeding the kittens again. I'll then continue with rigging the lights in their carrier.
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paws smol kittens coffee shop fur family box abandoned customers reddit story saved adopted cat story cat dad newborn cute kittens cat lovers
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