It was 4 a.m. when a staff member from Orange County Animal Services arrived at work and spotted a cardboard box sitting near the dumpster. The label read “Coconut Water” — but something about it felt off.
As the staff member approached, their heart sank. Inside the box wasn’t a drink delivery — it was a pile of tiny, shivering kittens.
Someone had abandoned them in the middle of the night.
The discovery left shelter staff heartbroken. Orange County Animal Services accepts animals without an appointment — anyone can safely surrender pets during business hours. But these fragile kittens had been left alone in the dark, with no food, no warmth, and no way to call for help.
“We were saddened,” said Amy Sullivan, the shelter’s foster care program coordinator. “We don’t know how long the kittens had been left out there without food and water before they were found.”
All the kittens were severely underweight and suffering from dehydration, respiratory infections, and eye issues. Staff quickly began treating them with medication, fluids, and gentle care. Slowly, the babies started to recover.
Before long, the kittens were strong enough to continue healing in foster homes — and there, their true personalities began to shine.
“In foster care, they became playful, happy kittens,” Sullivan said.
But just one week later, the shelter faced déjà vu. In the exact same spot — and inside the same brand of “Coconut Water” box — another litter of kittens appeared.
Unfortunately, this was no coincidence. Between March and October, “kitten season” floods shelters across the country with newborns in need.
“Every day during kitten season, the shelter receives dozens of kittens, some of them just weeks or days old,” the shelter wrote on Facebook. “Most litters that come into the shelter are bottle babies, and their care is extremely labor intensive.”
That’s why foster families are such heroes — they make the difference between life and death for the tiniest, most vulnerable animals.
Thanks to the compassion of volunteers, all of the “Coconut Water” kittens survived, thrived, and eventually found loving forever homes.
“They’ve recovered and were adopted,” Sullivan said. “We hope they have a lifetime full of love.”
To help more kittens like these, you can make a donation to Orange County Animal Services.
