An 83-year-old grandmother stayed inside a burning house to be with her pet cats.

Siriporn Deeouum chose to secure her 20 cats instead while waiting for firemen to extinguish the blaze in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand on February 25.

Footage shows several fire trucks and rescue vehicles waiting outside the old woman’s home while she risked her own life by sheltering her beloved moggies.

Siriporn, who was eventually helped from the inferno, said: ‘I could never leave my cats.’

The pensioner said she was sleeping when she woke up to thick smoke filling her house at night. She immediately shouted for help before her concerned neighbours contacted the emergency services.

Siriporn could have easily walked out of her burning home but she was afraid that the moggies would die if she saved herself first.

She was able to let most of the cats jump outside the windows to escape the fire, but the old woman was missing four cats.

Worried that they could be trapped somewhere in the house, she stayed inside calling for them while the firefighters battled to put out the blaze.

After 20 minutes, the fire was out and the team assisted the old woman out of the house.

She was still looking for the four missing cats until one of the firefighters found them huddled at the back of the house uninjured.

The grandmother, despite the damage to her property, was delighted when the cats were handed to her.

She then ran back inside the house once it was cleared by firefighters to check if her documents were saved.

Fortunately, the paperwork was spared from the fire and none of her cats were found dead inside the house.

The relieved old woman said: ‘I had no idea how the fire started because I was sleeping that time. I am relieved we were not hurt.’

Fire officers are still investigating the cause of the fire while the grandmother looks for her 16 cats who fled the burning house.