Owners allegedly knew 'Zombie Cat' was alive when he was buried
Did the owner of the "zombie cat" bury it alive on purpose? That's what the humane society who rescued him thinks.
Bart, the "zombie cat" who miraculously came back to life after he was apparently mistook for dead, is now at the center of heated custody battle. Sherry Silk, director of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, said she does not believe Bart's owner should have custody because the owners were not certain the cat was dead when it was buried.
Silk said the video above confirms her conviction. At the end of the video, a woman can be heard saying, "He might not have been dead. 'Cause when I found him ... he was moving and stuff."
The Tampa Bay Humane Center took care of Bart after he appeared at a neighbor's house five days after his owners buried him. The owners took Bart to the center because they could not afford the veterinary bills. The center treated him for a broken jaw, open facial wounds and a ruined eye. His story made headlines across the country.
"I open the door and my neighbor's standing there with the cat in her hand," the cat's owner, Ellis Hutson, 52, told ABC News."She said, 'Bart is not dead.' I said, 'That's impossible. We buried Bart.'"
Now the Humane Center is refusing to return Bart to his original owners.
"Recently we have learned new information about Bart's home environment and the circumstances leading up to his burial," the center told ABC News in a statement. "Therefore, the Humane Society of Tampa Bay does not intend to return Bart to the Hutson family. We are prepared to fight for the best interests of this cat."
In late January, the Humane Society of Tampa Bay says that someone called over the weekend, saying they were going to "storm" the hospital and take the cat, according to WFTS. Hospital personnel are now on high alert. Humane Society officials are hoping the call was just a hoax.
"If we have to go to court, we have to go to court," Hutson said. "I haven't done anything wrong, and I don't think it's right to take my cat."
