This is the moment a shocked cat owner looking for their missing moggy discovers the almost-drowned pet stuck in the family washing machine.

The owner began looking for the pet after hearing it meowing pitifully but was unable to locate it at her home in Jining, a prefecture-level city in Shandong, China, on June 11.

The woman said she was shocked that when she went into the room where the washing machine was turning she realised that the cat had climbed inside and was being rinsed together with the clothes.

She said she had instantly pulled the plug on the machine, which had been running for seven or eight minutes, and then had to work out how to open the doors so that she could safely remove the terrified puss.

The woman said: 'It looked somewhat drowned, but quickly recovered and is now fine. It's fortunate that cats have nine lives.'