Bernadette

At only four months old, Bernadette was nearly burned alive as a terrifying blaze engulfed her outdoor encampment. No one noticed her feeble screams as she became trapped. Although she survived, she was covered in life-threatening burns that took months to heal, and her lungs bore the brunt of extensive smoke inhalation.

When we received the call from one of our local shelters about a 4-month-old kitten who had been trapped in a fire at a nearby encampment, we immediately sprung to action. This poor girl had been living amongst the unhoused community and had sustained debilitating injuries in the blaze. 

The shelter expressed their concern about smoke inhalation and emphasized the importance of having Bernadette brought to the emergency room as soon as possible. With its limited funding, the shelter was unable to provide Bernadette with the life-saving medical care she needed. However, the compassionate staff did not want to see this sweet kitten’s life come to an untimely end, so they went above and beyond to get her into the hands of someone who could help.

We immediately agreed to take her in and arranged for Bernadette to be transported to the emergency vet. Her whiskers were singed off completely, and she had sustained extensive burn wounds on her chin, underside, and paws. She was in critical condition by the time she arrived, but by some miracle, Bernadette made it through the first night. 

Bernadette needed to receive supplemental oxygen to support her lungs as she had inhaled a dangerous amount of smoke. Her meows were faint and raspy, but this little girl was clearly fighting. By morning, Bernadette had won the hearts of the emergency vet staff, who commended her for her bravery and resilience. Bernadette remained hospitalized for the coming days, but her condition was stable with the help of oxygen support.

Bernadette still had a great deal of healing to do, though. The charred skin across her body needed constant attention and care to ensure it was healing properly. We couldn’t risk Bernadette developing an infection in one of her wounds, so we were changing her bandages around the clock. 

Once she was discharged from the hospital, Bernadette continued her recovery from our care. This poor girl survived a terrifying ordeal that left her physically and emotionally scarred. We can only imagine how terrifying it must have been for Bernadette to be trapped by the flames, unable to do anything but scream as they broiled her delicate skin. 

Yet, Bernadette had already made incredible strides on the path to recovery. We expected the road to be bumpy, however. And it was. Just a couple of days after her arrival at the hospital, this sweet girl needed an ECHO. She was dealing with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Still, the doc said it wasn’t related to smoke inhalation. Still, they had to take all precautions because in cats with HCM, the heart’s left ventricle thickens, messing with blood flow and causing rapid heartbeats. She risked oxygen starvation.

We owe so many thanks to the Veterinary Emergency Group for taking SUCH great care of Bernadette and to our CUDDLY donors and community for helping her get ALL the care she needed. Y’all had Bernadette’s future looking BRIGHT in no time. After the ECHO came back clear, Bernadette continued to recover at lightning speed. Her paw pads were pretty burnt, but we continued to apply salve and topical meds. Slowly but surely, she was weaning off the pain meds, and we set her up to get spayed and vaccinated!

Once she was all but perfectly better, Bernadette, being the adorable, sweet thing she is, was immediately adopted! We had so many wonderful applications come through, but we knew the perfect fit when we saw it. Although we are sad to part with this sweetum, we know Bernadette is living her BEST life right now. It’s a bittersweet moment. 

Thank you to everyone who helped heal this kitty and get her to where she is today: playing with her new family and cuddling up to them, warm and cozy, happy forever. Here’s to you, Bernadette!