MEDICAL LAKE, Wash. — Knowing what their cat, Meows, went through, enduring and surviving the Gray Fire, Jamie DeAndre and her daughter Jasmine, are holding her a little tighter.
"She’s just such a good kitty," DeAndre said. "And just such a strong kitty."
Strong only begins to describe Meows. Jamie was in downtown Spokane when she found out a wildfire was quickly moving in on her home.
"I'm going into the house, literally spinning in circles, going ‘what do I take?’," Jamie recalled.
Meows, an indoor-outdoor cat, was nowhere to be found during the evacuations.
"There was no time to look for her, but I wasn't really worried because she's a really resilient cat," Jamie said. "I knew she had ran to safety."
Where exactly Meows ran to, she's not sure. But, wherever she went was enough to keep her alive.
“She's truly a miracle, and in like one sense of the word, I knew that she would make it, but honestly when we look collectively at what she went through, I can’t believe she did,” Jamie said. "It was really intense. It breaks my heart that she was out there for four days under that rubble. When we found her, she smelled like rotten flesh."
Jamie explained her brother had found Meows under rocks and rubble near her home four days after flames swept through Medical Lake and parts of Silver Lake.
"He wrapped her up, she was meowing a little bit, and we rushed her right over to the Medical Lake hospital,” Jamie said.
According to the Medical Lake Veterinary Hospital, Meows was "fried all over" and in critical condition upon her arrival.
“She had fourth degree burns on the two front paws," Jamie said "So, those were down to the bone.”
Meows is microchipped, but Jamie and Jasmine said they knew, even without the microchip, the cat in front of them was Meows.
"There's not going to be any other cat out there like that and tucked in the rocks between our house," Jamie said. "Without a doubt, I knew."
Dr. Mariah Young said it was hard to tell the severity of her injuries with the extent of her burns, but after some testing, she was able to determine there was no damage to Meows' lungs.
Meows needed the tip of her tail amputated and the tops of her ears fell off.
Dr. Young said Meows likely survived because she is a long-haired cat. The fire singed most to all of her hair off, but her skin was fairly healthy.
Dr. Young said the hospital is now partnering with Paisley Paws, a non-profit to support financial needs within veterinary care, because of Meows.
"We called her our 'miracle kitty'," Dr. Young said.
Meows spent nearly three weeks in the ICU before being released to a foster parent.
Jamie said medical expenses for Meows were upwards of $6,000, but donations poured in, taking care of everything.
"We were pretty fortunate," Jamie said. "I can't say thank you enough to all the people who donated. That was a huge weight off our shoulders."
Jasmine continued the thanks, giving appreciation to Davenport Hotel Tower and all the friends and strangers who have supported their family.
"It's good that we have friends that care about us," Jasmine said. "If we didn't have friends I don't know what we would have. We would have nothing."
Jasmine said Meows is an adventurous and fearless cat.
"One time, I was watering the plants and I found her fighting a raccoon," Jasmine remembered. "Sometimes she'll bring wild stuff inside."
Doctors at Medical Lake Vet expect Meows to make a full recovery. She'll have some permanent scarring and rounded ears, but she'll should grow her hair back in due time.
Jamie and Jasmine are preparing to move into a new rental home in Cheney in October, where Meows will have a "big, fenced backyard" and a space for all three of them to make new memories.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.