This has been a rough year for wildfires here in Southern California and throughout much of the western United States. A few weeks ago, the Border Fire destroyed over 7,600 acres in southeast San Diego County. Fires can be devastating for both people and their pets. While it’s always important to have a disaster preparedness plan in place for yourself and your animals, sometimes natural disasters like wildfires can get out of control very quickly, putting people and animals in danger.

Meet sweet little Minikins, a kitty caught in the middle of the Border Fire. Minikins’s owner Renee got a call at work saying her neighborhood was being evacuated. Renee rushed home to save her beloved cats, but authorities would not let her get close to the house for days…until she finally found one Cal Fire officer who agreed to take her.

The wildfire had surrounded her house, getting all the way to the front porch. She found all of her cats hiding under the porch, except for one poor kitty, who is still missing. All were scared, but unharmed…except for Minkins. Minikins had suffered severe burns on all four of her paws. She had lost fur and skin, and fire retardant was stuck to her feet. Crying in pain, Minikins was rushed to the vet.

The veterinary team at Country Pet Hospital in Alpine, California worked hard to save Minikins, but her journey to recovery is far from over. She will need debridement surgery on her paws and weeks of ongoing care. Our partners at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital have agreed to take on Minikins’s treatment at a reduced rate, since her owner cannot afford the thousands of dollars associated with her care.

If you would like to help with Minikins’s care, you can go to the FACE Foundation’s Donate page and select “gift in honor of” and write in “Minikins” to ensure your gift goes to her care.

To see a local ABC News story about Minikins, click HERE.