Pasadena, CA – A cat who was severely burned in the California wildfires has been reunited with her family. According to Pasadena Humane, the organization instrumental in savings countless pets displaced by the fires, said that the gray cat known as Hope is actually Skinny Minnie, a pet belonging to Mark and Lisa of Altadena.
In a social media post on Friday afternoon, the agency said:
We are overjoyed to share that Hope’s family has been found. Hope, whose real name is Skinny Minnie, was a neighborhood cat in Altadena. Mark and Lisa had fallen in love with the outdoor kitty and decided to bring her into their family, working gradually to introduce her to their two indoor cats so she could live inside, too. Heartbreakingly, they had been so close to transitioning her to indoor life when the Eaton Fire tore through their neighborhood.
When it was time to evacuate as the Eaton fire approached, the couple was able to escape with their two indoor cats, but Skinny Minnie was nowhere to be found. The family’s home burned to the ground, but the couple hoped that their missing cat had somehow beaten the odds and survived.
Thankfully, she proved herself to be a true survivor, though her condition was dire when she was first taken in. The shelter described her intake condition, writing:
Hope (A519243), who was found in the fire areas in Altadena. Her whiskers were singed off and she had burns all over her body. She couldn’t walk due to the painful burns on her paw pads. She was scared, all alone, and needed our help.
She was rushed to our ICU, where our team wasted no time treating her wounds, bandaging her paws, and getting her medications to soothe her pain. She had inhaled a lot of smoke from being in the fire area, and desperately needed oxygen. Luckily, we were able to get her supplemental oxygen before it was too late.
It has been a long road to recovery and Skinny Minnie is not quite ready to join her family, but she has company until she has recuperated sufficiently; the animal shelter said:
We look forward to the day when Skinny Minnie is able to finally go home with Mark and Lisa, who will be keeping her strictly indoors with their two other cats. Until then, these two loving cat parents are in our ICU every day, visiting with their sweet girl.
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