Smokey is a male cat who was trapped after a feral colony caretaker saw him for the first time.
He had been in a fire, and his face, paws, whiskers and ears were scorched. He was dehydrated, infested with fleas, exhausted, (his pads were still bleeding a bit), and he even smelled bad from the burned tissue.
We at The Peter Zippi Memorial Fund for Animals agreed to take him in and house him until he recovered.
We don't know what happened - if he were a victim of cruelty or had been caught up in the Christmas arson fire in a church near where he emerged. He may have "laid low" and hidden, as cats will do for a while after being so hurt, waiting to either die or get better.
Smokey was unneutered at the time of his rescue, but very calm and gentle when he was examined, given fluids and medications.
Smokey is big guy, around 10 pounds and a fluffy solid pewter color (with kind of silvery fur underneath and on his feet). The vet estimated that he was about 2 years old.
Smokey recovered from his wounds, and shortly after we listed him on Petfinder, we were contacted by a woman who had recently lost her big smokey-grey cat.
It was love at first sight for both of them.
It's been almost a year, and Smokey's mom lets us know on a regular basis how happy they both are.
Hermosa Beach, CA
