A massive 13ft python slithered into a local's house and devoured his beloved pet cat in Thailand.

The huge beast was nursing a bulging belly when it was discovered by snake catchers in a corner of a cat cage at the residence in Trat province on June 24.

As the animal was too sated to flee, the officers quickly caught it and hauled it outside the house. They uncoiled the reptile to take its length and found it measured a whopping 13 feet.

The team then sealed it inside a sack and released it into its natural habitat away from the neighbourhood.

Homeowner Somneuk Wangsombat, 57, said that he found the python while checking on his cats before leaving for work. One of the felines, Chao Song, he said, had a habit of escaping from the cage.

But when Somneuk peered inside the enclosure, he found not his beloved Persian, but a large python coiled in the corner instead.

The bereaved pet owner said: 'The snake must have sneaked inside the cage and eaten Chao Song. I'm devastated. I love that cat so much. I've been raising it since it was a kitten.'

The reticulated python is found throughout Southeast Asia, where they live in forests, swamps, canals and even in cities, causing them to come into conflict with humans. The species is one of the world's largest snakes and can eat humans, cats, dogs, birds, rats and other snakes.