Seven Persian cats that were trapped in a burning three-storey building were rescued in Thailand.

Pet owner Charinkarn Dansing, 34, had left the felines in the residential building in Udon Thani province on March 6 to go to his friend's house, but rushed home upon learning the apartment had caught on fire.

Worried, Charinkarn waited outside the building and asked the officers about his pet's whereabouts. He ran to his cats as the firefighters brought them down one by one.

Charinkarn then carried his pets on a motorcycle and took them to the vet to have them checked. A total of five cats were rescued, while two others managed to escape the fire by jumping through an open window to a neighboring building.

Charinkarn said: ‘I have been living in this building for two years now. The weather was warmer today so I went to my friend’s place. I didn’t know that there would be a fire an hour later.’

Neighbours said they saw sparks from an electric fan and a surveillance camera before the blaze started.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Wikanet Suetrong said: ‘The fire might have been caused by a short circuit. We will be investigating to find its real cause.

The tenants were away when the fire happened. Only the cats were there, and all of them are now safe.’