Rockford is a three-year-old Domestic Longhair cat in Chappell, NE, who needs $1,300 for burn and smoke inhalation treatments.

It's a miracle Rockford is alive. He is one of only a few cats who managed to escape a devastating house fire.

Rockford and dozens of other cats were all being fostered at a privately-owned home that was also the rescue headquarters for Nebraska Loves Cats. Last month a fire started in a dryer inside the house. While the fire department was on the way, the woman who lived there, and helped run the rescue, started grabbing cats, attempting to race them all outside to safety. She also ran around the house, breaking all the windows so the cats could escape.

"She kept trying to bring all the cats out of the house, but they were scared and would run back inside," Lori R., from the rescue, tells Waggle. "Even though the home was on fire, she kept running back in, trying to save them all. Then the police handcuffed her so she could not go back inside because it was so dangerous. The entire situation is so awful."

Nearly 50 other cats died in the blaze. "It is just heart-wrenching," Lori says.

Even though Rockford was one of the lucky ones who got out, he suffered severe smoke inhalation and had second and third-degree burns on his body, ears, and feet. Rescuers rushed him to the animal hospital. "He was pretty serious. It was touch and go for a while. His whiskers were all singed. He could not put down one of his front feet due to the burns. He needed IV fluids, pain medications, and antibiotics," Lori says.

Nebraska Loves Cats desperately needs donations to pay for Rockford's medical bills. The grief-stricken rescue also has to rebuild and find a new home and headquarters.

Amazingly, through all of Rockford's treatments and even through hydrotherapy, he has remained loving and calm. "The staff at Westfield Small Animal Clinic love Rockford. He's their favorite," Lori adds. "He would lay there in the water. He'd grip their hands and wanted his belly rubbed through the whole thing."

Lori says Rockford is expected to recover and eventually will be up for adoption, but the rescue needs your help to recover from this horrible fire.