--- title: Firefighters Found a Chicken and Cat After California Fire description: Firefighters found this unlikely pair — a chicken and a cat — huddled in a Redding, California home after a wildfire tore through the area canonical: https://time.com/5356909/chicken-cat-redding-california-fire-photo/ author: Gina Martinez article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-02T23:35:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:16.049Z og:title: This Unlikely Pair Was Found Huddling Together After They Survived a California Wildfire og:description: They were found by firefighters og:url: https://time.com/5356909/chicken-cat-redding-california-fire-photo/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6a50e4ac737fd50/698936f2bc6cfcd71d3e69bb/reddingchickencat.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: chicken_cat_redding_california og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Unlikely Pair Was Found Huddling Together After They Survived a California Wildfire twitter:description: They were found by firefighters twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6a50e4ac737fd50/698936f2bc6cfcd71d3e69bb/reddingchickencat.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Unlikely Pair Was Found Huddling Together After They Survived a California Wildfire ## Video: 'It Felt Like We Were On a Different Planet.' A Rare, 'Apocalyptic' Fire Tornado Developed During A Devastating California Wildfire [Watch (HLS stream): 'It Felt Like We Were On a Different Planet.' A Rare, 'Apocalyptic' Fire Tornado Developed During A Devastating California Wildfire](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/wU3erxTb.m3u8) (0:38)  _Published 2018-08-01. A fire tornado, for lack of a better term, had just ripped through this area of Northern California about a mile and a half away from downtown Redding, a city with a population of more than 91,800._ by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Aug 2, 2018 11:35 PM UTC  Green Valley Firefighters discovered a chicken and cat huddled together in a doorway Green Valley Firefighters discovered a chicken and cat huddled together in a doorwayPhoto Courtesy Green Valley Fire Department by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Aug 2, 2018 11:35 PM UTC California firefighters made a surprising discovery as they were helping residents deal with the aftermath of the deadly [Carr wildfire](http://time.com/5353749/california-fire-map-2018/) that has destroyed more than 1,000 homes. Grass Valley Fire Department Chief Mark Buttron [shared a heartwarming image](https://yubanet.com/regional/grass-valley-firefighters-on-the-carr-fire-rescue-an-unlikely-pair-of-friends/) of a chicken and a cat that huddled together for safety and support in a home in Redding, Calif., which [was ravaged by the fast-moving blaze](http://time.com/5353986/california-wildfire-2018-season/). Firefighters found the unlikely pair last week in the doorway of a home seeking shelter from the nearby fire. The photo shows the black and white cat sprawled out on the floor next to a large water bowl and the chicken on the other side of the dish. It is unclear how long the animals were inside the home alone. Chief Buttron said the animals survived what could be one of the state’s most destructive fire of the year, which has burned more than 11,000 acres in its path. After nearly a week of burning through Northern California, the Carr fire is already one of the biggest blazes in California’s history. After some coaxing and a refill of fresh water in their bowl, firefighters were able to get the cat and chicken into carriers. They were both taken to a local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter, where they were treated for burns and examined for other injuries. Members of the fire department checked on the pair the next day and were told both the cat and the chicken are expected to make full recoveries. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5356909/chicken-cat-redding-california-fire-photo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5356909/chicken-cat-redding-california-fire-photo/"},"headline":"This Unlikely Pair Was Found Huddling Together After They Survived a California Wildfire","datePublished":"2018-08-02T23:35:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:47:16.049Z","description":"They were found by firefighters","url":"https://time.com/5356909/chicken-cat-redding-california-fire-photo/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6a50e4ac737fd50/698936f2bc6cfcd71d3e69bb/reddingchickencat.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Gina Martinez","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6a50e4ac737fd50/698936f2bc6cfcd71d3e69bb/reddingchickencat.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"chicken_cat_redding_california","caption":"Green Valley Firefighters discovered a chicken and cat huddled together in a doorway","creditText":"Photo Courtesy Green Valley Fire Department","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5356909/chicken-cat-redding-california-fire-photo/","name":"This Unlikely Pair Was Found Huddling Together After They Survived a California Wildfire"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"'It Felt Like We Were On a Different Planet.' 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