Cat Comes Back From The Dead – Real Life Stephen King Story.
This dead cat story has got all the twists of a Stephen King novel without the freaky undead creatures—well, mostly.
The Real Life Stephen King story begins
Nicci Knight, loving mom of four kids and a couple of fur babies, is enjoying a family holiday in sunny Turkey. She’s just chilling by the pool when she gets the worst possible news from back home in North Yorkshire, England: her cat, Ted, is dead. A neighbor’s kid even held up Ted’s unmistakable black-and-white body on camera like some kind of morbid proof-of-life… or rather, proof-of-death. (I think you’re required to have a creepy or weird kid in every story like this, right?)
Naturally, Nicci does what any pet parent would do—starts crying, arranges for a cremation, and tries to move on. So Ted’s off to the Heavenly Pets Crematorium (yes, that’s the name), where for the low, low price of 130 pounds, his little kitty remains are turned to ash. Tragic, right? Holiday ruined.
The Twist
But this is where the story goes full-on *Pet Sematary* movie. Four days later—FOUR DAYS—Nicci’s cat-sitter, Elise, makes the most frantic phone call ever: “You’re not gonna believe this, but Ted just walked through the cat-flap like nothing happened!” (at this point I can hear the dramatic music and a long, slow zoom on the camera into Nicci’s face).
Now, imagine you’re Elise, thinking you’ve just witnessed a feline Lazarus situation. Ted, who was very much “cremated,” is strutting around like a boss, even dropping a dead mouse on the carpet like it’s a welcome-back gift. Classic Ted, right?
At this point, Nicci’s mind is doing backflips. Is this cat Ted’s ghost? Did someone accidentally hit the rewind button on the universe? Nope, turns out it was just a lookalike cat. A *very* dead lookalike, who now resides in a container labeled “Not Dead Ted.” And the real Ted? Alive, well, and probably wondering what all the fuss is about.
Nicci goes to the crematorium and picks up a lovely memory bag for the mystery cat: ashes, paw print, even a sympathy card. It’s weirdly sweet, and also a bit like you’ve just stepped into a deleted scene from *Pet Sematary* (tell me Stephen King is smiling about this one). One moment you’re crying over your beloved pet, and the next, you’re hugging them extra tight because they just pulled a “JK, I’m not dead.”
So now, Nicci’s on a mission to find the owners of the late, great Not Dead Ted, while the real Ted chills at home with his sister Moosh—and, hilariously, a dog also named Ted.
What would you do?
I’m gonna ask the questions that need asking:
- How do we KNOW that the Not Dead Ted is NOT TED, again – read the Stephen King book and you tell me I’m wrong.
- How would you react if you buried your cat (or had it cremated) and it showed up at your front door? Full on Pet Sematary. As the owner of two cats I wondered about this…but as I look at the two of them looking at me with their big beautiful eyes, I know I’d let them in and keep on keeping on. (also – it’s a lot easier to deal with when you know they can’t hold a knife…no thumbs).
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go feed my cats…anything they want.
