BHUBANESWAR: Proving that it can be as good a friend as a dog, a pet cat in the city saved its owner’s family from possible danger by preventing a cobra from entering their house.
The incident took place in the Bhimatangi area of the city where Sampad Kumar Parida and his family live with their pet cat Chinu.
The male cat instantly reacted when the reptile entered the premises of Parida’s house from the backyard at noon on Tuesday.
Parida saw Chinu running to the backyard. He followed the cat and saw that the cat is standing guard against a four ft long cobra and preventing it from entering the house.
Both of them engaged in a fight. However, Chinu didn’t move an inch from its place.
Sampad immediately called Snake Helpline for help. Arun Kumar Baral, a volunteer from the helpline, reached the spot and found that the cat is guarding the house and trying to prevent the Cobra from entering inside for nearly 30 minutes.
Arun then shooed the cat away from the place and immediately rescued the cobra.
“The pet cat stood guard to stop the snake till I came to rescue. The fight lasted for half an hour but fortunately, none of them was injured,” Arun said.
Snake Helpline General Secretary Subhendu Mallik said the cobra was released outside the city in a natural habitat.
He said that they thoroughly checked the body of the cat and found no fang mark.
Time and again pets are proving to be the best guard of their owners.
In 2019, a pet dog at Jaanla village in Khurda district had made supreme sacrifice to protect its master's family from a venomous snake.
The same year, another pet dog in the Badagada area of the capital city had fought against a cobra to guard the lives of its owner’s family members The pet dog guarding their gate spotted the snake and prevented it from entering the house.
“Cats and dogs are very faithful pets who don't hesitate to risk their lives to protect their owner's family,” Mallik said.
He said although the cobra was capable of killing the cat, the feline displayed the courage to face the venomous reptile.