Bart the cat was buried after he was found lying in the road, stiff in a pool of blood, and was presumed dead.
Bart's owner, Ellis Hutson, told the Tampa Bay Times he "couldn't stand" to bury the animal and asked his neighbour Dave to dig him a shallow grave.
But five days later, bedraggled Bart was found meowing for food by another of Mr Hutson's neighbours, Dusty Albritton.
A shocked but delighted Mr Hutson, discovering that vets' bills would be too expensive, took Bart to Tampa's Humane Society.
Bart had surgery to remove his ruined eye and treat his broken jaw, and is now resting comfortably according to the society's Facebook page.
