Published Feb 11, 2026
Kirsten McCarthy / Cats.com
Is your ex a really, er, crappy person? Did someone treat you like excrement? You can celebrate Valentine’s Day by having his or her name written on a colored paper heart and put into a shelter cat’s litter box to be baptized by waste.
That’s right: For a $5 donation, you can get a paper heart with the name of your ex, or someone else who did you dirty, put into a litter box at the Kansas Humane Society in Wichita. Thanks to the zany “Love Stinks!” Anti-Valentine’s Day Fundraiser – which runs through Saturday, February 14 – you can support a good cause that helps cats, and vent your anger and hurt with a sense of humor.
Kansas Humane Society / Facebook.com
The hilarious social media announcement of the “Love Stinks” program on the shelter’s Facebook page reads: “Have someone in your life who’s a piece of (poop emoji)? Our shelter cats are here to help with the purr-fect revenge! For a $5 donation, we’ll write the name of your unspecial someone on a cute paper heart … which we will place in a litter box. If there’s something else stinking up your life, feel free to submit that instead of a name! Your donation won’t only help heal your broken heart, it will also go directly to caring for all the local homeless pets at our shelter. Each day, we’ll be posting pictures of the new hearts in litter boxes! Submissions for names are open now.”
Some of the comments are as funny as the Love Stinks promotion itself. “I have a lot of names, it might end up being a tax write off!” one Facebook user wrote. Someone else added this question: “Will you share all the names posted or nah? Asking for a friend …” Another user said: “Can I pay extra for you to give it to a cat … with explosive diarrhea? Just exploring my options …”
You can donate and name your paper heart at this link for Love Stinks! I myself will donate at least $20, with a few hurtful people from my past. Maybe I will throw in a friend’s ex on her behalf. Also worth noting: The word on your heart doesn’t have to be someone’s name. It could be simply the name of something else that is stinking up your life. That said, I just might buy a heart that says “Arthritis.”
Kansas Humane Society / Facebook.com
The Kansas Humane Society will show footage of all the named hearts going into the litter boxes on Valentine’s Day, on their Facebook and Instagram pages. The fundraiser, in its second year, had raised more than $12,600 as of February 9, shelter officials say.
There are a few guidelines participants must abide by: no profanity or inappropriate names, and no names of political figures or controversial characters. However, the shelter cleverly noted in a recent update that “Donald Duck” apparently broke many hearts recently – a likely more subtle way for some participants to put the controversial President Donald Trump in the litter box.
As funny as this “Love Stinks!” promotion is, and as cathartic as participating may be, we must not lose sight of the important purpose: to raise funds for cats and other pets at the Kansas Humane Society (KHS). Looking at the website’s page of stats, this organization is doing a great job at it. In 2025, the KHS rescued 3,613 cats, 3,422 dogs, and 192 small animals like rabbits. Veterinarians there performed 5,325 spay and neuter surgeries. Overall, excluding regulatory required euthanasia, the KHS had a 96 percent save rate in 2025. That is amazing!
Kansas Humane Society / Facebook.com
Even if you don’t have someone whose name you want to write on a paper heart to put into a litter box, please consider sending the KHS a donation – or your local animal shelter, or any nonprofit that saves the lives of precious cats.
If you want to donate to a specific cat, we recommend checking out the website Waggle, where people start fundraisers for pets in need. My heart is moved when I read the stories on there about individual cats whose humans are raising money to provide for their medical needs. And when you give through Waggle, your donation is tax-deductible.
We wish you a Valentine’s Day full of cat and human love!
