A Brisbane woman found her home invaded by an eastern brown snake on Wednesday that had “tightly coiled” itself around her cat’s neck.
Rebecca Daynes posted photos of the incident to Facebook group Snake Identification Australia, where she described the incident as “truly terrifying”.
She added that both the cat and snake had fortunately survived the fight.
“It’s been just over 24 hours now and our cat still hasn’t shown any symptoms or distress,” she said. “Still not completely out of the woods, but we are hopeful.”
Rebecca Daynes managed to take a picture before removing the snake from her cat. Picture: Rebecca Daynes
Ms Daynes said her cat was old, frail and with a brain tumour, making her slower and meaning she can’t often escape outside their home.
When she does, “she typically just lies in the sun and waits for someone to notice and open the door again, so we think the snake must have slithered right past her”.
Commenters on her Facebook post speculated the snake was around the cat’s neck as a defence mechanism to protect itself from the feline’s bites.
“(The snake) is injured but still alive,” she said, though she could not find it after it retreated into her garden.
“We back onto bush land so we assume it’s far gone. Hopefully, it’s will to live and death defying audacity equals that of our cat and they will both be OK.”
Ms Daynes added that her cat tried to go outside again in the morning, “so it certainly hasn’t taught her any lessons”.
The snake disappeared into the garden after being separated from the feline. Picture: Rebecca Daynes
Ms Daynes removed the snake from her cat herself, which she described as an adrenaline-fuelled moment and “probably the most stupid thing I could have done”.
“I’m very grateful I didn’t get bitten either.”
The Facebook group is co-run by Craig and Jackie Adams of SSSAFE, which teaches snake and spider safety awareness and sells first-aid materials for bites.
“Snake identification isn’t always straight forward and many factors can make identification from a photo difficult. This group will always recommend staying a safe distance from any wild reptile and seeking immediate medical attention in the event of a snake bite,” the group’s description says.
