This is the heart-wrenching moment a stray dog was seen carrying a cat that had just been killed by a car in an apparent attempt to protect it.

Woo Yafang, 22, noticed the mutt carrying the kitten's corpse in its mouth after it was knocked over in Taipei, Taiwan, on July 30. The student stopped to watch and believes that the caring pooch was trying to protect the cat from being eaten by wild dogs.

Woo said the dog would get tired from time to time and place it on the ground to rest, before picking it up again to try to somehow protect it.

She said: ''I never expected to see a situation like this. The dog was protecting the body of the cat.''

Woo said the dog was walking around the cat's body for a while and she thought the canine might try to eat the corse, so she stopped to see what happened.

She added: ''The dog urinated around the cat, and I understood this was to occupy that place and not let other wild dogs close to the cat. It carried away the cat and would drop it from time to time when it was tired.''

Woo said that after several minutes the dog approached her and drop the cat's body at her feet.

She added: ''The dog appeared to be relieved that a person could now take care of the feline. The dog went away. I am sure that they have caring emotions for each other just like humans do.''

Woo said that she collected the cat's body and had it cremated.

This is the heart-wrenching moment a stray dog was seen carrying a cat that had just been killed by a car in an apparent attempt to protect it.

Woo Yafang, 22, noticed the mutt carrying the kitten's corpse in its mouth after it was knocked over in Taipei, Taiwan, on July 30. The student stopped to watch and believes that the caring pooch was trying to protect the cat from being eaten by wild dogs.

Woo said the dog would get tired from time to time and place it on the ground to rest, before picking it up again to try to somehow protect it.

She said: ''I never expected to see a situation like this happen before my eyes. The dog was protecting the body of the cat. What does this say about the people who hit the cat and drove away? It was a stray dog that was willing to help to take care of the body. The dog has very real emotions.''

Woo said the dog was walking around the cat's body for a while and she thought the canine might try to eat the corse, so she stopped to see what happened.

She added: ''The dog urinated around the cat, and I understood this was to occupy that place and not let other wild dogs close to cat. It carried away the cat and would drop it from time to time when it was tired.''

Woo said that after several minutes the dog approached her and drop the cat's body at her feet.

She added: ''The dog appeared to be relieved that a person could now take care of the feline. The dog went away. I am sure that they have caring emotions for each other just like humans do.''

Woo said that she collected the cat's body and had it cremated.