In a phenomenon that’s too similar to Stephen King’s Pet Sematary for our liking, a cat named Bart crawled out of his shallow grave five days after he “died” in Tampa, Fl.
Bart, whose apparent resurrection proves felines really do have nine lives, was hit by a car almost two weeks ago. When his owner, Ellis Hutson, found him, he wasn’t breathing and had serious head injuries. A distraught Hutson couldn’t bring himself to bury the cat, so he asked a neighbor.
What came next is both cool, shocking, and terribly terrifying if you were made to watch King’s 1989 film as a child. The one-year-old cat managed to escape his grave, trekking to neighbor Dusty Albritton’s house to meow for some food.
“At first it blew me away,” said Albritton, 42. “All I knew was this cat was dead and Pet Sematary is real.”
Dude. We feel you.
Hutson, who said he’s “never seen anything like that before” plans to keep Bart after he heals from his injuries.
Bart had a broken jaw, a ruptured eye and a torn-up face, but he was alive, dehydrated and hungry. And Hutson wasn’t sure what to do.
He reached out to veterinarians before getting in touch with the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, who offered to take care of Bart. Hutson didn’t have much money for Bart’s extensive surgeries, but Humane Society executive director Sherry Silk said the organization’s Save-A-Pet Medical Fund will help Hutson pay for the procedures, which will cost more than $1,000.
Bart underwent surgery to remove his eye, wire his jaw shut and insert a feeding tube Tuesday afternoon. He is expected to make a full recovery in about six weeks.
But how Bart escaped his grave is beyond Hutson, and everyone who’s heard this story, for that matter. It’s suspected he clawed his way out of the dirt but according to Fox 13, Hutson has another theory:
“We have two cats and they play together all the time and they roam around with each other. He might have went looking for his brother and dug him up — but I have no idea.”
OK. That’s just…disturbing. Get well soon, Bart.
SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times, Fox 13 | VIDEO SOURCE: News Inc.
