A family who believed their cat had died and been cremated received a "huge shock" when their late pet suddenly came home.
Rachel Fitzsimons's 16-year-old tabby cat Frankie had gone missing from their home in Warrington, Cheshire, on May 19th of this year.
The cat was missing for days and the family sent out search parties in a desperate bid to find him.
Ms Fitzsimons then spotted the dead body of her cat on the M6 motorway and alerted the authorities.
She said: "The markings matched Frankie and we live close to the motorway, so we were sure it was him."
She rang the Highways Agency, and after the weekend workers went out to check the dead animal.
They retrieved the dead animal and said it was a fluffy tabby cat with white markings, which matched Frankie's description.
The Highway Agency took the cat to the compound but staff were unable scan his chip.
After collecting the cat, the heartbroken family had the feline cremated.
Days later the family were shocked to see Frankie reappear at their home.
Son Remy - who had the ashes of the cat he thought was Frankie in a box in his bedroom - told the BBC : "It's a miracle. We thought he had died."
Mrs Fitzsimons's husband John heard a noise at the back door and to everyone's shock missing-presumed-dead Frankie strolled in.
The miraculous return of the cat was hailed by the family who were happy to be reunited with their pet.
But Frankie's return did raise the question of which cat the family had cremated and stored in the box in their home.
Ms Fitzsimons said: "He came back, frail and hungry but alive. So we cremated someone else's cat.
"He was bedraggled and very thin, meowing to come in as if nothing had happened.
"We all cried and we are still in shock. He's so lucky. We would like to know whose pet we have cremated!"
Ms Fitzsimons believes they must have "cremated someone else's cat".
