Nestled between Dayton and Cincinnati, the city of Middletown, Ohio, is home to picturesque Smith Park, a sprawling 95-acre green space known for its peaceful walking trails and natural beauty. But on March 14, 2025, what should have been a simple, peaceful day at the park took a heartbreaking turn when a cardboard box was discovered by the side of the trail. Inside was a feline family: a cat and her kittens, abandoned without food, shelter, or help in sight.
Fortunately, kind-hearted park visitors discovered the box in time, averting a tragic outcome. Despite the cold, all the cats were huddled together, visibly bonded, and refusing to move away from one another. Their behavior immediately revealed something important to rescuers: these cats were not feral. They weren’t afraid of people, didn’t run into the woods, and behaved more like indoor pets than outdoor survivors.
“These cats clearly belonged to someone,” told a volunteer from Josephs Legacy to Cole & Marmalade, the nonprofit animal shelter that stepped in to help them. “You can tell they’d been handled, even loved. That makes the situation all the more frustrating.”
The shelter brought the feline family to safety, providing them with warmth, food, and care—things they should never have been without. The mother cat, still young herself, was doing her best, but she had no milk and no real way to support her kittens on her own. Fortunately, in the safety of a foster home, the kittens began to thrive: eating, drinking, and cleaning their litter boxes on their own. But as long as the cats were safe, the Josephs Legacy team couldn’t ignore the way they’d been abandoned. So they posted a heartfelt and hilariously brutal message to the person responsible:
“To the idiot who abandoned these kittens and their mom in a box at Smith Park in Middletown, Ohio, today:
May all your socks stay slightly damp forever. May your phone charger only work at a weird angle. May your pizza always arrive lukewarm. And may karma find you, along with your steel-toed boots.
Sincerely, someone hoping your next taco falls apart at the first bite.”
While the message was humorous, the frustration behind it was very real. Animal abandonment isn’t just irresponsible, it’s cruel. And this wasn’t the first time the rescue team had seen this.
“I’d like to say worse,” the message continued. “But I’m staying low-key for the sake of our page. Believe me, I have no sympathy for the person who did this. I’m truly angry.” Despite a rocky start, the kittens and their mother are now safe, nestled in a foster home, and are quickly adjusting to indoor life. Mama cat is proving to be a total rock star, showering her babies with cuddles and keeping them out of trouble. She’s strong, gentle, and clearly doing her best to make up for lost time.
The kittens are thriving, transforming their foster home into a veritable kitten playground. From wrestling with each other to chasing imaginary mice to their little meows, these babies are living life to the fullest. They’ve even made friends with the foster family’s dogs—an unlikely but adorable friendship in the making. The shelter says the kittens still need some time to grow before they’re ready for adoption, but when that day comes, they’ll be looking for loving homes to continue their adventure. And you can bet their foster families are going to have fun naming them. For now, the little family is safe, happy, and (rightfully) celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with all the luck they deserve. 💚
Follow Josephs Legacy on Facebook to learn more about this lucky family and other animals in need, and help spread the word: no animal deserves to be abandoned.
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