A large python is forced to spit out a pet cat after it was found hiding next to a warehouse.<br /><br />The 10ft long African Rock Python was spotted by workers after it slithered under wooden crates at the building in upmarket Richards Bay, South Africa, on April 2.<br /><br />Fire officers arrived to catch the snake and noticed the huge bulge in its stomach and dragged it onto the ground to make it regurgitate the creature. <br /><br />Stomach-churning footage shows the slime-covered cat emerging from the python's mouth as firemen use huge anti-bite gloves to prevent it from lashing out at them.<br /><br />Onlooker Vincent Harris said the snake had already eaten the cat but after it was moved from its hiding place it started to release the dead animal.<br /><br />He added: ''Everybody was sure it was a python which is not venomous but you can never be too careful so the fire crew were called.<br /><br />''This was a big one. I think the cat belonged to somebody in the neighbourhood in the neighbourhood. It was well-fed so unlikely to be a stray. Somebody will have been missing their pet sadly.''<br /><br />The cat didn't survive but the python was checked over by local vets before being released back into the wilderness several miles away.<br /><br />The Kwazulu Natal Fire Protection Association confirmed the incident and warned that snakes and other predators are a risk to cats.<br /><br />They said: ''The team were called after reports of a snake. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do the save the cat at that point.''
