An elusive feline played cat and mouse with a rescuer inside a 75-feet-deep well near Ahmednagar, western India.

Animal Rescue Society was called after locals had found the cat stranded down the well.

A rescuer was lowered down into the pit on July 22 and attempted to capture the feline but the cat proved to be extremely elusive.

The cat was eventually caught he brought back to safety.

Jadhav, of Animal Rescue Society, said: "Catching a terrified cat inside a well is not easy. We also had to put the snare around it carefully to make sure it would not get harmed when we hauled it up.”

A cat fell into a 75-feet deep well near Ahmednagar in western India on July 22.

The local villagers gave it food and water daily by lowering a bucket. After five days, when it became clear that the stranded cat was unable to come up on its own, they called Akash Jadhav of Animal Rescue Society.

A rescuer went down the well and tried to catch the cat. But the animal fled away from him and climbed into a deep hole in the well.

He tried to make it come out by gently prodding with a stick but the cat refused to budge.

He then tried to use a makeshift snare to catch the reluctant animal. The cat caught the snare and bit the wire till the knot snapped.

The rescuer had to make the snare again while delicately balancing inside the well. He persisted and managed to catch the cat which was pulled up.

Akash said: “Catching a terrified cat inside a well is not easy. We also had to put the snare around it carefully to make sure it would not get harmed when we hauled it up.”