This moment applies across species, as we see with this newborn Black Kitten when she reunites with her mom
It looks like her eyes have finally opened, which means she gets to take in the sight of her beautiful cat mama
When this sweet tiny kitten reaches out her paw to her Calico cat mom for the first time, the internet literally couldn’t contain itself in this overwhelming moment of sweetness
As one person wrote in the comments about this kitten reuniting with her mom, “So cats also wake up to their babies just staring into their soul.”
Someone else said this was the sweetest thing they had ever seen
Another person joked that perhaps the kitten was just looking deeply into her mom’s eye because she wanted milk, but we think it was more than that
Related: Jet Black Litter of Foster Kittens Come Equipped With the Most Adorable ‘Murder Mittens’
Though kittens are born with their eyes closed and don’t open them until they are about a week to 10 days old, they still recognize their mother or caretaker in other ways
Their ears are also closed when they’re born, so their most reliable sense for recognition is scent
This kitten definitely knows her mother’s odor very early in life
If the kitten has only a human caregiver during those very early weeks, their scent will also imprint on them
Some kittens will even hiss if they smell an unfamiliar scent at this age