A heartbroken couple who buried the remains of their beloved cat after he was "hit by a car" has been left stunned after their actual pet turned up the next day.
Danielle and Sam Smith were contacted by a neighbour on May 14 after they found a black and white cat that had passed away, as they believed it to be the couple's 11-month-old pet Lucky.
Sam, 31, went to identify the cat - which had almost identical markings to Lucky - and brought the dead animal home to his partner, who broke down in tears.
Retail worker Danielle, 30, was left cradling the cat while landscape gardener Sam dug a grave in their garden to bury the moggy alongside a headstone marked 'RIP Lucky'.
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But the next day, mum-of-three Danielle received a text while she was at work that included a picture of her actual cat walking through the front door of her house and tucking into his breakfast - meaning she and her partner had buried someone else's cat.
Danielle, from Birmingham, said: "The whole situation is hilarious and it's mortifying because of how distraught we all were. I still can't get my head around it. It was a traumatic weekend.
"A mum in a group chat for school mums messaged asking if anyone knew a black and white male cat, quite big.
"My cat is quite naughty, he tries to get into people's houses so I messaged back saying 'me, what's he up to?' and sent her a photo of Lucky, but I didn't hear back from her so I tried calling her a couple of times.
"I was panicking because she went quiet so I thought something had happened. I was just about to get in the shower and she called and said 'I'm not sure if it is your cat from the picture that you've sent' but it wasn't a very good picture because he was on his side.
"I asked if the cat was ok and she said it had gone so I asked if I could send my partner round because it was only down the road. He shot up on his push bike. I was upset but I was in disbelief, I thought it won't be Lucky.
"I was in the shower and he came in the bathroom, looked me in the eye and said 'It's Lucky'. I broke down and fell down.
"Sam was saying I didn't need to see him but I needed to see him for my own closure. It was so dramatic. I couldn't control it. They're part of the family. The cat was in an old-fashioned potato sack. My partner was trying to stop me from looking.
"I was bawling, snotting and dribbling, pushing him away saying I need to see him like I was in a film.
"We opened the sack so you could see the neck down, the body of the cat and the markings were exactly the same."
The mum had gone to work the next day and had explained to her manager what had happened so that they knew why she was so emotional, but by 10:30 am she had a message confirming that Lucky was alive.
Danielle first burst into tears of happiness, but then the reality dawned on her as she realised she and Sam had buried a completely different cat.
She added: "At about 10.30, I got a Snapchat and there was my Lucky eating his food and laying in my bed cleaning himself.
"I burst into tears with happiness but at the same time, I was thinking 'which cat's blood did I have all over my hands' and whose cat did I mourn.
"When Sam dug the grave, he put a stone on it saying 'RIP Lucky'. It was a full-on grave. It's such a funny situation. Everyone has said it's just typical of me and Sam. If it had to happen to anyone, it's us."
The couple has since managed to track down the owner of the cat that passed away, who asked her to leave the moggy where they buried him so he can rest.
Danielle explained: "She posted on Facebook a photo of her cat so I messaged her saying I think her cat is buried in my garden. I explained what happened and she was so lovely.
"I know it sounds weird but I asked her if she wanted us to dig him up so she can bury or cremate him. She said leave him to rest if that's ok so we've planted some seeds there.
"I'm relieved but I still get worked up when I relive the situation. I'm so happy that the cat is back because we've literally had him since the day he was born."
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