In Britain, a Nicci Knight was on vacation when she was told erroneously that her cat Ted had died. She arranged to have the cat cremated while she was away. Four days later, Knight learned from her cat sitter that Ted was alive, and it was another cat that had drowned in Knight’s pond.
Jamie Grierson reports Cat makes surprise return home four days after being ‘cremated’ (‘Beloved pet Ted reunited with grieving North Yorkshire family after drowning mixup’):
Four days after the cremation, Knight – still in Turkey – saw she had several missed calls from her cat sitter. “I was in the pool again, having a lovely time, having, you know, put it [Ted’s death] behind us,” she told the broadcaster.
The cat sitter told Knight that Ted had just walked through the catflap. “I didn’t believe it at first,” Knight said. “I had to get her to FaceTime me live so that I could see that Ted was actually alive.”
Knight soon realised she had paid £130 to cremate someone else’s cat. When she later went to collect the ashes, she saw the urn had been labelled “Not Dead Ted.”