A stunned family who thought their pet cat had come back from the dead just 24 hours after his funeral realised they had buried the wrong animal... when he turned up for breakfast.

Distraught Karen Jones, 48, and 45-year-old brother Paul May were devastated to discover the black cat - believed to be two-year-old pet Norman - at the side of a road in Ashford.

A neighbour in Beecholme Drive, Kennington, told them the cat had been hit by a car and a man was seen putting the body on the grass by the road on Monday.

Mrs Jones - a store trainer for Sainsbury's, in Simone Weil Avenue, Ashford - said: "We found this cat which we believed to be Norman. It was exactly the same size, same colour and had the same face. We were in tears all day."

They took the animal's body back to their home in Mardol Road, where Mrs Jones' son Harry, 22, spent two hours digging a grave in the back garden.

That afternoon, "Norman" was buried with his favourite toy mouse and a black porcelain cat was placed on top of his grave.

Mr May, who plays the guitar, even wrote a short song which he played at the funeral.

But the next day the family was amazed when Norman scampered into their kitchen - and ate his breakfast.

Shocked Karen believed her cat had come back from the dead and ran outside to see if he had dug himself out of the ground.

It was only when she found the grave still intact she realised they must have buried the wrong cat.

The family are now desperately trying to trace the owners of the dead cat to give them the bad news.

Mr May, who works for the youth offending service at Kent County Council, said: "I was standing at the sink making myself a drink when I heard the cat flap and just saw this tail in the conservatory.

"I said 'Is that you Norman?' and he meowed back. He's a very talkative cat."

He ran to pick up Norman and carried him upstairs to see his 19-year-old owner Sam, who also works at Sainsbury's.

"I took him up to show Sam and I said 'Norman has risen from the dead'," said Mr May. "Sam just freaked out and said 'Oh my god'."

Mrs Jones said: "It was a total shock. I think I kissed his head while Paul was holding him.

"This cat has got such a character. He's come in with cuts and bruises before. He's turned up with his ear all scratched and dragging his leg. He's had his nine lives."

"As pleased as we are that he's come back we know that someone else has lost a cat..." - Karen Jones

The family have tried to vain to track down the dead cat's owner, but felt it was only right to let them know the fate of the creature.

"We had a morning of tears because we had been grieving, but as pleased as we are that he's come back we know that someone else has lost a cat," said Mrs Jones.

"If it was my cat I would want to know personally."

Mr May added: "We're worried that there could be some poor family with an upset kid out there.

"We've looked for missing cat posters but we haven't found anything."