News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Cats may have nine lives but these brave kitties seem to be pushing the envelope in an advert to promote an insurance firm.

But before animal lovers start to get hot under the collar, the Swedish company who made the ad has promised no felines were harmed in its production.

This is because while it may look like the cats are plunging thousands of feet, the commercial was produced using green screen trick shots

So in the original film people were actually shot skydiving, but they were then replaced with cats through the magic of technology.

The advert was produced for Swedish insurance company Folksam after the firm asked its customers to suggest web ads.

One customer Eva Leijonmark, who insures her cat with the company, suggested skydiving cats spelling out her name and putting it to R Kelly’s song “I Believe I Can Fly.”

Amazingly Folksam went for the wacky concept and set about making the idea into a video.

The recording shows the moggies appearing to freefall with squinted eyes and the wind rushing through their fur.

In another scene, the flying cats then join up in formation linking paws in an attempt to spell out the word Eva across the sky.

The ad then shows the furry skydivers' parachutes opening as they begin the slow descent back down to earth.

Produced by advertising agency Akestam Holst, the 40 second video has gone viral with almost 500,000 hits on YouTube.

While most viewers appear to see the funny side of the clip, some cat lovers have been disturbed by what they saw.

“This is not funny or cute,” one wrote, while another commented: “Wrong on so many levels."

The company has said that it followed animal welfare laws to ensure that the animals were unhurt in during the filming.

Watch the parachuting cats in action below