This is the adorable moment a troop of monkeys gathered to inspect a man's pet cat in Thailand.

The curious macaques surrounded the local as he stood by the roadside with the moggy perched on his shoulders in Songkhla province on September 16.

When he sat down, the monkeys stayed close, gently sniffing and watching the feline with fascination.

The man said: 'I don't think they have ever seen a cat before, so they just sat there sniffing and watching her.'

Thailand is grappling with a growing macaque population, with thousands macaques roaming cities, temples, and tourist spots. Tourists feeding the monkeys have made them increasingly bold and aggressive, prompting frequent capture-and-relocation operations.