Reunions really are the best, aren’t they? Nothing beats the joy of reconnecting with loved ones after being apart. And guess what? Our feline friends feel the same way about reunions as we do.

To prove it, let me share with you a heartwarming tale about Thali, a mama cat, and her four kittens, brought to light by none other than Hannah Shaw, also known as the Kitten Lady.

What Separated This Adorable Furry Family?

Hannah Shaw, a well-known kitten rescuer from San Diego, recently got a call from a local shelter about three abandoned newborn kittens found on the street. 

Without a second thought, Hannah welcomed the kittens, naming them Dal, Aila, and Momo, promising them a fresh start full of love and care.

However, with limited information from the shelter about the kittens’ past, Hannah was in the dark about whether their mother was out there looking for them. 

Thankfully, as the founder of the Orphan Kitten Club, a charitable organization striving to transform the landscape of kitten welfare in America, she had resources at her disposal.

Hannah’s organization runs the Full Circle Program which focuses on sterilizing community cats in the neighborhoods where the kittens were rescued.

Basically, Hannah and her team go to the place where their foster kittens were rescued, and they investigate their background and the situation of other stray kittens in that area.

Through this program, Hannah discovered some surprising news: Not only was there a mother cat, Thali, out there, but there was also a fourth kitten! 

It turned out that Thali had been scared away by some mischievous kids, managing to take only one of her kittens with her and leaving the other three behind. 

When the neighbors who found the kittens realized Thali wasn’t coming back, they reached out to the shelter for help, knowing the kittens needed immediate care to survive.

Hannah now had a new mission: To reunite Thali and her fourth kitten with Dal, Aila, and Momo. She was determined to bring this furry family back together, no matter what it took.

Mission One: Locate The Missing Mom And Her Kitten

Finding the missing mom and her fourth kitten turned out to be a real challenge. Hannah explained by saying:

“It’s a very complicated situation because knowing that there is a fourth baby outside means that we can’t try to catch mom and reunite her with these guys unless we know where that fourth baby is. If we were to trap the mama and bring her to be with these three, we would be abandoning a fourth kitten outside who would die. We couldn’t try to trap mom until we located the fourth kitten.”

For over two weeks, Hannah and her crew were on the lookout for Thali, spotting her a few times but never catching sight of the fourth kitten. 

That is until a neighbor gave Hannah a call with some great news: She had found the fourth kitten!

It seems Thali had been hiding her baby at the side of someone’s house, shielded by a wooden plank. 

The discovery of the kitten, named Aamli, took everyone by surprise. Despite surviving flash floods and the cold, Aamli was doing amazingly well.

Though thrilled to find Aamli, Hannah and her team couldn’t bear to separate her from Thali, since she had spent the crucial first weeks of her life under her mom’s care. So, they decided to wait for Thali to return, which, fortunately, didn’t take long. 

Just an hour after finding Aamli, Thali made her appearance. The next step was clear: It was time to bring this furry family back together!

Mission Two: Quarantine Time For Mom And Kitten

If you thought that reuniting Thali and Aamali with Dal, Aila, and Momo after two weeks of separation would be easy-peasy lemon squeezy, well you’ve thought it wrong. There were a ton of considerations and possible issues to think through. 

Hannah pointed out that during the two weeks they were apart, Thali and her baby might have been exposed to a variety of contagious diseases out in the wild.

Of course, they always quarantined animals for two weeks before introducing them to each other, but since the kittens were from the same litter, Hannah wasn’t sure what to do. 

Hannah also added:

“Two weeks out in the field also means that Mama is probably not lactating as much as she would have been if she had all four of her babies with her.”

Ultimately, Hannah decided on a brief quarantine period to play it safe, ensuring the initially rescued kittens weren’t exposed to any diseases Thali and Aamli might bring from outside.

Thus, Thali and Aamli got their cozy corner to hang tight until they could all be together as one big, happy family again.

In a video she shared on her YouTube, Hannah expressed her excitement over reuniting Thali and Aamli with their litter, not only because it meant their family would be together again, but also because of the educational aspect for her viewers.

According to Hannah, not all cat rescues are the same; each is a unique experience, and therefore there is no one-size-fits-all way of doing it. 

Staying informed is always the way to go and that’s precisely what our Kitten Lady’s goal is – to inform cat-loving folks!

If you wish to see how the whole process of finding Thali and Aamli went, I encourage you to check out this video:

And Finally – The Long Awaited Reunion

After two weeks of quarantine, it was finally time to bring Thali and Aamli back together with Dal, Aila, and Momo! 

Hannah gathered the original trio in the room where their mom and sister were staying, opened the cat carrier, and let the kittens start exploring.

Stepping out cautiously, the kittens seemed unsure of the new faces, including their mom, Thali, who also seemed a bit hesitant at first. She slowly approached, sniffing them as if piecing together lost memories.

Soon enough, it all clicked for Thali. Realizing these were her babies she had been separated from, she wasted no time grooming them, making up for lost moments.

Aamli, initially puzzled by the arrival of three new playmates, quickly grew curious and joined in the fun. The sight of all four kittens playing together, with Thali overseeing them, was a heartwarming scene. 

Finally, after weeks apart, Thali could relax, knowing her little ones were safe and sound.

Stories like this warm the heart, showcasing the power of family reunions. If you’re touched by Thali and her kittens’ journey and want to see their sweet reunion, I recommend watching this video Hannah shared:

Isn’t this the sweetest video ever? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. Truly, a beautiful reminder of the bonds that tie us together. Share your own stories or thoughts in the comments – we all love a happy ending!