'Only a couple of hours old': Woman shocked by contents of a menstrual pad box she was handed before flight
Hannah Shaw has seen some surprising things as an animal welfare advocate.
Even this week, Shaw, 38, also known as 'Kitten Lady', was preparing to board a flight for the Cat Lover's Festival in Sydney when she was handed a box of menstrual pads.
Inside, there was a kitten "only a couple of hours old".
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'This was like three days before I left for Australia, a kitten came to me in a maxi pad box.' Andrew Marttila
"This was like three days before I left for Australia, a kitten came to me in a maxi pad box, a feminine hygiene products box – so, I named her Maxine," she tells 9honey Pets.
Maxine is now seven days old and is currently undergoing neonatal kitten care.
Shaw's experience with Maxine isn't even her most unusual case – far from it.
"I recently had a kitten who was born with 'backwards legs'. Her legs are not backwards, they look like they are. I've had kittens with no back legs, paralysed kittens, kittens with a cleft palate and all different neurological conditions," she said.
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Her experience with Maxine isn't even her most unusual case. Far from it. Andrew Marttila
"My whole thing is trying to pave new pathways for kittens that people might assume are hopeless and to demonstrate that hope is possible.
"I really like taking on the types of cases that a lot of people would want to take on."
'I really like taking on the types of cases that a lot of people would want to take on.' Instagram @hannahxlady
Shaw will be sharing some of her experiences and expertise at the Cat Lover's Festival at Sydney Showground this weekend, appearing at midday this Saturday August 23 and Sunday August 24.
"So my hope this weekend at Cat Lovers Festival, is definitely to take people who are cat admirers and cat lovers, to get them over to cat advocacy."
Shaw began her career as a kitten rescuer and foster carer in her hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when she found a kitten "on top of a tree".
"I climbed the tree and put her in my skirt. I assumed that animal shelters could help kittens like her and there was nothing they were going to be able to do for her at the shelter other than euthanasia.
Maxine is now over a week old and doing well. Andrew Marttila
"So I cared for her, raised her, and she ended up being my cat for 15 years."
That cat, Coco, passed away in 2024.
"She was my very best friend and the kitten who started it all for me. So after rescuing Coco, it opened my my eyes.
"I started reaching out to animal shelters and asking them if they needed help."
Shaw would eventually launched herself on social media as 'Kitten Lady', sharing her knowledge with the world and advocating for kittens and cats.
'I started reaching out to animal shelters and asking them if they needed help.' Instagram @kittenxlady
Her channels, books and social media accounts are a well-regarded source of knowledge in the animal welfare community and around the world.
"I create resources that shelters can use for learning how to care for kittens on-site, I do a lot of professional training at shelters across the US," she says.
"I also founded a charity in 2016 called Orphan Kitten Club, and we are a national organisation across the US that supports animal shelters and their clients to save these little lives instead of demonising them."
Shaw also met her husband, cat photographer Andrew Marttila, through her work.
Marttila made his name in cat pop culture, including photographing Grumpy Cat and creating viral memes.
Shaw also met her husband, cat photographer Andrew Marttila, through her work. Instagram @kittenxlady
He and Shaw met when she hired him to take photos of some of her kittens.
For those who come across a kitten in need, Shaw says the first step is to slowly warm them up and once their temperature is stable, offer then some kitten milk for food and hydration.
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Shaw is hoping to win more Australians over to the cat welfare space. Instagram @kittenxlady
"What I love about caring for a kitten is that I get to see the impact of my work and making a difference in real time," she says.
"I think that the world is kind of like heavy and sad sometimes and being able to like put your energy into something that really transforms in real time, right in front of your eyes is amazing.
"And I love watching all of the milestones and opening their eyes in real time and just feeling safe and making biscuits ... it's really profound to see."
You'll find Hannah Shaw, Dr Katrina Warren and kitten and cat rescue organisations such as Hills Cat Rescue at the Cat Lover's Festival in Sydney this weekend.
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