TRANG — A rubber farmer was showering Tuesday morning when he heard a loud noise in his yard.

Thinking he had a peeping tom, 25-year-old Wirot Kiewkong rushed outside and followed the sound to his old Nissan. He shone a flashlight and “went into shock” at the sight of his beloved cat in mortal combat with a king cobra.

The 20-kilogram king cobra extended its hood, bared its fangs and began striking at Wirot’s cat, who fought it fang and claw.

The man quickly called local animal control, who arrived at his house in Trang’s Sikao district. It took them 20 minutes to apprehend the 5-meter serpent.

Wirot’s cat survived, give or take one of its nine lives. Sawai Kaewjue, the animal rescue officer who led the human intervention, released the snake into the wild.

The king cobra is the world’s longest venomous snake. The longest ever measured was 5.85 meters.

Snakes in Thailand have been known to slither into homes to munch on unluckier cats and out of toilets to bite dangling bait.

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