A stray cat who become a beloved family pet disappeared for years—only to return when her former owner least expected it.

Shyla Lang, 26, lives in Tecumseh, Oklahoma, and four years ago was devastated when her cat, Quinara, disappeared, months after she had shown up to Lang's home as a stray.

"We spent months trying to coax her inside as she always hung around our house," Lang, who was eight months pregnant at the time, told Newsweek.

When an ice storm was about to hit the area, they finally got Quinny safely inside, where she became an adored pet.

"She spent my last month of pregnancy with me always curling around my belly, and kneading into my belly as well. When we brought home our son, she was always with him, she would sleep on the edges of his crib most nights," business owner Lang said.

However, Quinny was used to being an outdoor cat, and while they walked her on a leash, she would sometimes escape the house alone. "She always came home," Lang said—until September 2020, when Quinny vanished.

"We posted on Facebook, knocked on doors, called shelters, vets; everything we could think of for weeks. No luck. We started to lose hope after about a month, but I always wondered if she was OK and where she was at."

As the years passed, Lang still looked out for Quinny among the stray cats in town, until four years later, on December 2, 2024, when Lang was a block away from home, talking to a plumber about a break in the property's sewer line.

"As I was standing there talking to him, I saw a cat roaming around, thinking nothing of it as we do have a lot of strays in our area," she said.

However, the cat began sprinting toward her—getting into a close call with a car as it did so—"and started rubbing on my ankles and kneading at my leg."

"I looked closer and was in absolute shock that the cat looking at me looked identical to my Quinara," Lang said.

The cat then followed Lang to her car and hopped into the passenger seat, before yawning in a relaxed way. It was then Lang found the evidence that this was, beyond all doubt, her Quinny: she was missing the same tooth. "So we came home," Lang said, adding she "was full of tears and emotions."

Lang shared the story to her Reddit account u/SirensDream, where it racked up over 7,800 upvotes on the r/Cats subreddit since being shared on December 3.

Commenters shared their own stories, with one heartbroken Reddit user writing: "My old roommates let my cat out while I was gone for 6 weeks. I moved states and I think about her every day."

Around 6.3 million cats and dogs enter shelters across the U.S. each year, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Of these, only around 100,000 cats who enter as strays are reunited with their owners.

Other commenters made it lighthearted, as one posted: "She had a score to settle. Had to go train for 4 years and spent 3 months fighting her way through enemies until she finally defeated her nemesis. Now she wants cuddles and treats."

Things had changed over the four years: Lang had a new partner, and had added four other cats to her home, along with a rescue dog, foster kittens, and a 5-year-old child that had been a baby when Quinny was last home.

"Quinara has taken back her favorite perch in our window that's right by my work area, and is working on getting to know our other cats," Lang said. "Her and the dog are still at odds at this moment; Quinara isn't a fan of the dog's invasion of personal space."

However, Lang said, "she's adjusting well, and all of us are happy that she's home."

"She's even resumed her sleeping near my son some nights. She loves her catnip treats and staring out the window—even though she has lost all outdoor privileges for a while."

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.