A 9-year-old boy who made headlines after he was "rescued" from a hoarder's home where he was allegedly kept locked by his aunt, is recovering while he met his mother after a long separation.

C.M.A. was found in a deteriorating condition with little weight and overgrown fingernails in the house of his aunt K.P.A. in the northwestern Turkish province of Bursa over the weekend when the latter’s landlord sought her eviction. The boy’s mother, who lives in the southern province of Antalya, has claimed that her sister abducted him and she was looking for the boy for two years.

The boy is now in the custody of social services and is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Antalya where his mother was allowed to visit him on Tuesday. Authorities first handed over the boy to his biological mother before reviewing the case and ruling on keeping him in the care of child welfare services. A further assessment and legal process will determine whether he would be handed back to his mother. The boy’s aunt, who was detained, has claimed the mother abandoned the boy and she was looking after him, though she was "unable" to feed him as the boy "refused" to eat.

Accompanied by her lawyers, the boy’s mother Yasemin A. visited him briefly at Akdeniz University hospital and spoke to reporters about her son’s condition. "He is better than yesterday. He is smiling, recovering. I am glad he was taken care of but I want him to be with me. I am sure we will be together again once he has recovered," she told Ihlas News Agency (IHA). She said she gave the boy snacks he asked from her earlier. "He was very happy and well. People gave him a lot of gifts. I brought him photos he took with his (late) grandmother. I hugged, kissed him but I could stay there only for 10 minutes. He will be better in time," the mother said. The mother’s lawyers said legal proceedings were underway for the boy’s handover back to the mother.

Professor Özlenen Özkan, the rector of Akdeniz University, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the boy "spent a peaceful night for the first time." "There was no fear in his eyes and we hope he will be safe in the future," she said. Özkan said the boy’s overall health was improving but they were monitoring his health due to heartbeat problems. "He also needs a controlled diet for recovery," she said. She added that the boy – whose aunt claimed he was "incommunicative" – was always talking to his carers. "Physically, he will recover but it won’t be easy to heal the wounds in his heart," Özkan said. She added C.M.A. will remain at hospital for a few weeks more.