A trio of pet cats saved their owner's life when they confronted a cobra that had slithered into their house in Thailand.

The moggies named Boonchok, Mommam, and Hangkod were heard screeching as they squared up to the 4ft-long cobra hiding in a mosquito net inside the bedroom of their one-storey home in Udon Thani province on June 9.

Fur mum Daeng Siphomuang, 56, said she heard the felines caterwauling that day, thinking they were simply playing with each other.

However, 20 minutes had passed and the loud screeches still continued, prompting her to check on her pets.

Just as she was about to scold her cats, she saw the venomous serpent raising its head at them with its hood flared. It was hissing from behind the mesh net on the bed, poised to strike at any moment.

Fearing for her pets' safety, Daeng ushered the cats away and called rescuers for help.

Volunteers hurried to the scene and found the cobra tucked beneath a plastic box for storing clothes. They used a noose to catch the creature before sealing it inside a sack and releasing it away from the neighbourhood.

Daeng said: 'I've been living in this house for 17 years and have never encountered a snake until now. This is the first time. I saw that it was a cobra, and I did not dare touch it.

'I would like to thank the three cats who guarded and protected me. They warned me and my husband. Had it not been for them, we would have been bitten by this cobra and died.'