Zombie cat has returned!
A year after miraculously rising from the grave, Bart the cat is happy, healthy and — as far as we know — not a zombie after all!
He’s also the subject of a fierce, ongoing custody battle between the Humane Society of Tampa Bay and Ellis Huston, his human.
In a story straight out of Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary,” this feline rose to fame last January when Huston buried Bart in his Tampa Bay, Florida, backyard after he had been hit by a car and appeared to be dead.
Five days later, the cat clawed his way out of the grave and showed up and consequently showed up in a neighbor’s yard.
Bart had severe facial wounds, a broken jaw and a “dead” eye which had to be removed — but now the cat is thriving, though perhaps a bit overweight, Humane Society Director Sherry Silk told Fox13.
The Humane Society of Tampa Bay posted a photo of the black-and-white feline wearing a festive New Year’s hat in a recent Facebook posted update, taken during the cat’s recent check-up.
Bart is currently living with two other cats at a foster home as the Humane Society and Huston fight to see who will be allowed to keep the cat.
Silk alleges that Huston was aware the cat was still clinging to life when he buried his pet, which the owner emphatically denies.
A YouTube video posted by Huston’s neighbor, Dusty Albritton, shows Bart shortly after he returned from the dead, and a woman’s voice can be heard saying, “He might not have been dead. ‘Cause when I found him…he was moving and stuff.”
They also disagree over how long it took Huston to seek the needed medical attention for Bart after he reappeared, and Silk expressed concern over Huston’s ability to care for Bart’s special needs properly.
If the Humane Society were to win custody of Bart, Silk claims he will be available for adoption by a suitable family.
