Callie

My girl, Callie, was only about 3 weeks old when she was caught in a dry grass fire. The poor scared kitten had been separated from her mother and siblings in the frantic flight to escape. Her instincts for survival kicked in and once the fire was under control, she was found trying to hide in a squirrel hole by Captain Tommy Bolyard. The Captain later said he believed there was no hope for her.

Callie was terribly burned and exhausted. She was picked up by Fresno Humane Animal Services and taken right away to the emergency vet where she was given fluids and oxygen. Her recovery was just beginning. I met Callie two days after she was burned. She smelled like smoke, her singed fur barely covered her body. Her muzzle was raw, a tell tale sign of the terror she had experienced.

The pads on her feet were blistered making it difficult to walk and what toenails weren’t burned off were curled back from the searing heat. The edges of her ears were crispy and her eyes were swollen. She was quite the mess, but I had hope. I fed her with a syringe for the first few weeks because her lips were too stiff from the burns for her to eat on her own. I kept telling her she was a strong girl to have made it that far. I tended to her burns and kept them clean and gave her the love and the hope she needed to heal. It has been a long road she and I have traveled together while she has been growing and healing and somewhere along the way, this kitten that I was “only taking home until she could eat on her own” stole my heart.

Callie is now part of the family and the 5th cat in our household. Despite the pain she has been in, she has greeted every day with exuberance like any other “normal” kitten and still does.

Karen Walls
Callie's Foster/New Mom