John and Margaret Ross were 'absolutely devastated ' when they found what they thought was their missing cat lying dead in the road , before sending him for cremation . But two weeks later the couple from Hackney , east London , were stunned to receive a phone call from a vet who said their 19-year-old feline Amigo had been discovered alive and well . Mr and Mrs Ross , both 73 , immediately realised that they had cremated somebody else ’ s pet cat - which looked identical to their own white , black and tan Maine Coon . He 's back : Margaret and John Ross with their 19-year-old cat Amigo - who they thought they had cremated . Found : The couple received a phone call from a vet in London to say their cat of 15 years was safe and well . Retired barrister Mr Ross said : ‘ It was exactly the same cat as ours , same colour , same everything . It had been badly injured and was definitely dead . We picked him up and took him home . ‘ We said “ this is our cat , he has been killed , can we have him cremated ? ” We didn ’ t check the microchip . We thought there was no point checking the chip of our dead cat. ’ The couple , married for 52 years , asked a vet to send the cat to the Cambridge Pet Crematorium in Thriplow Heath , Hertfordshire , on January 17 - which was 12 days after he vanished . But last Tuesday - two weeks after paying £130 for the cremation - they received a phone call from the Wanstead Veterinary Hospital in east London to say their cat of 15 years was safe and well . Presumption : Mrs Ross said the couple 'never suspected ' the dead animal 'might be somebody else 's cat ' Missing feline : Mr Ross said the dead cat was 'exactly ' the same as Amigo - 'same colour , same everything ' Mr Ross said : ‘ Three weeks later we got a call from the veterinary hospital to say they found Amigo but I said “ we ’ ve cremated him , it can ’ t be ” . We shot off to the hospital and there was Amigo . ‘ We said “ Is he completely deaf ? Has he got cysts on his back ? ” The vet said “ yes ” , and we knew he was our Amigo . We couldn ’ t believe we got him back . 'But then it struck , we ’ d cremated the wrong cat . We rung the crematorium and said if somebody wants the ashes of that cat then please give them the ashes. ’ Mrs Ross , a retired English lecturer , added : ‘ We never suspected it might be somebody else ’ s cat - if it had been an ordinary moggy then maybe , but Maine Coons are really quite rare . It had been a messy accident but it had the same white paws and white fluff as ours. ’ A crematorium spokesman said the ashes of the unidentified cat would be scattered in its gardens .
John and Margaret Ross discovered what they thought was their missing pet . Animal was lying dead in road in ##firmary , so they sent him for cremation . But two weeks later vet said their cat Amigo had been found alive and well . Retired parents , both deceased , realised they had stolen somebody else 's pet .