A woman has labelled her pet cat a hero after taking a bullet to the head, deflecting it from hitting her toddler son.

Ginger moggie Opie was laying near three-year-old Daemire Sipe when a gunman’s bullet fired in through the window of the home in York, Pennsylvania.

It hit the animal in the head, passing through to his shoulder before it ricocheted around the room, finally lodging into a pillow.

Daemira’s mum, Angelica, said that the bullet landed just inches from where her son was sleeping - and the cat saved his life.

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She told Fox 43: “It took me a second to realise what just happened.

“The first thing I did was check on my son and he was sound asleep.

“Then I saw my cat on the floor and that’s when I realised my cat was shot.”

She said the bullet “came in the top of his head, out the bottom of his neck, and back into his shoulder and out his armpit rib area”.

Proving he does have nine lives, Opie survived being shot in the head and he is set to make a full recovery.

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Despite costly vet bills, there was no doubt in Ms Daemira’s mind about keeping her hero pet.

She said: "I wanted to keep him. He was my son’s little hero, so I need to keep him around.”

The bullet was thought to have been a stray that careered into the house.

Pics: Fox 43