Gary Potter recalls walking out to his backyard and finding the cougar.
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"The cat was stretched out here in the grass just staring at me, and I went 'Hello,'" he said. "And I just slowly backed myself up and back into the house."
Potter says he believed the cougar was injured in the nearby Bobcat Fire. Wildlife experts warned residents that animals escaping the flames could end up in unusual places, like backyards.
"At first I took some pictures assuming it was just going to get up and leave. She didn't leave. She just licked and licked and licked her feet," Potter said.
Potter contacted the non-profit Cougar Conservancy where he talked to Johanna Turner.
"I let him know he should keep an eye on things, if she was still there in the morning, probably something was wrong and we needed to call somebody out," Turner said.
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Early morning, Potter says the cougar startled him awake.
"I heard this scream," Potter said. "It was on all fours, and it just looked like it was afraid to move."
The next day, the Cougar Conservancy and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife located the cat. Biologists say all four of the cougar's paws were burned and bleeding.
The team says it immediately took the injured cougar to a local veterinarian for assessment.
Soon after, the animal was transferred to the CDFW's Wildlife Investigations Lab in Sacramento. Veterinarians say she is responding positively to treatment.