TAMPA, Fla. — Bart the cat was hit by a car and was buried — and seemingly crawled back from the dead.
Earlier this month, a car hit the 1½-year-old cat in Tampa. Bart’s owner was so distraught, he couldn’t stand the thought of burying him, so he asked a neighbor to dig a shallow grave.
Five days later, on Jan. 21, a matted and injured Bart emerged, meowing for food.
“At first it blew me away,” said Dusty Albritton, the neighbor who buried Bart. “All I knew was this cat was dead and ‘Pet Sematary’ is real.”
Bart had a broken jaw, a ruptured eye and a torn-up face. He was dehydrated and hungry, but alive.
Owner Ellis Hutson got in touch with the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, which through the Save-A-Pet Medical Fund will help cover the costs of Bart’s care.
On Tuesday, the cat underwent surgery to remove the bad eye, wire his jaw shut and insert a feeding tube, which cost more than $1,000.
