A CUSTODY battle could be brewing over the Florida cat that was supposedly thought to be dead and buried, but was found alive several days later.

    The latest in the thickening plot line ripped from an animal version of “The Walking Dead:” The executive director of the Tampa Humane Society announced the group would not be returning the cat to its owner.

    Bart, or “Zombie Cat,” as he has been called on social media, was discovered “unresponsive” by his owner last week lying in a pool of blood. His body was cold and his face was severely disfigured, representatives from the Tampa Humane Society said.

    The cat’s owner, Ellis Hutson, told the Humane Society that he buried his pet with the help of a neighbor.

    “If we’d seen that cat on the road, we’d assumed he was dead,” said Nash McCutchen, marketing coordinator with the Tampa Humane Society.

    Five days later, a different neighbor said she found Bart walking in her yard, presumably after he clawed his way out of the grave.

    The neighbor returned the cat to Hutson, who brought the cat, who was covered in open wounds and dehydrated, to the Humane Society for help.

    But remarkably, McCutchen said, the kitty had no internal injuries, and Jan. 28, Bart underwent surgery to remove his left eye and have his jaw wired shut. (SD-Agencies)