A Belfast family was left stunned after their cat, Simba, returned home just hours after they had cremated a lookalike feline they mistakenly believed was their own.
Freddy and Sinead O'Cleirigh found a dead black cat with a white patch on its chest near their home, leading them to assume it was their 14-year-old pet, Simba, who had gone missing overnight. They paid £60 for cremation and £25 for a headstone, holding an emotional ceremony.
However, hours later, Simba wandered back home. CCTV footage captured the moment their son, Connell, 17, reunited with the cat. The family then tracked down the owner of the cremated cat via social media and returned the ashes.
Sinead said: 'We were trying to cheer the boys up with pizza then my son saw a little cat come wandering down the drive. Everyone was screaming that Simba had come back from the dead.' She added: 'I'm just so embarrassed. I haven't stopped laughing because I can't believe it was me who did it.'
