Zombie cat: 'dead' pet claws its way back from grave

A cat owner in Florida was left shocked when his "dead" pet returned home, five days after it had been buried in his garden.

Ellis Hutson thought his cat Bart was dead after he was hit by a car and found lying in a pool of blood. He enlisted the help of his neighbour to bury the cat, as he was so upset.

"I saw him with my own eyes," said neighbour Dusty Albritton. "I know he was dead. He was cold and stiff."

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However, five days later, Bart returned. He was alive, but severely injured, weak and dehydrated.

"I open the door and my neighbour's standing there with the cat in her hand," Hutson told ABC. "She said: 'Bart is not dead.' I said: 'That’s impossible. We buried Bart.'"

Bart was rushed to the vet, who believes the cat was simply unconscious and managed to claw his way to the surface after waking up.

However, Albritton isn't convinced. "The only thing I can think of is that this is God's miracle. And I thought, why five days later? If Bart was alive before, he would have come to our homes earlier," she said.

Her cat was also hit by the same car and later died. “Now my kids believe their cat will also rise from the dead," she said, "but I told them I don't think so."

Bart has since undergone an operation to remove an eye and fix a broken jaw. He is expected to make a full recovery.

"We have seen many amazing cases at our full-service veterinary clinic, but this situation may take the cake," said the Humane Society of Tampa.