While most of us are enjoying the warmer weather, a timely reminder has been received that humans are not the only ones basking in the sunshine.
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A Dubbo family’s pet cat came face-to-face with a brown snake on Wednesday evening, with the altercations caught on camera.
Heather – whose owners Nathan and Marnie Merchant have described as either dumb, lucky or a combination of both - stared down a large brown snake which was found in the backyard of their Severn Circle home on Wednesday evening.
In the videos Heather can be seen stalking the reptile, which the Merchants estimate was over a metre in length.
Ultimately, after half-an-hour or so of back-and-forth between the combatants, the snake slithered into nearby scrub.
“It was pretty scary because originally the snake was in the grass and we wouldn’t have known, only Heather was sniffing at it,” Mr Merchant said.
“I don’t have a gun, and I wasn’t going to go at it with a shovel or a cricket bat because it was already fairly agitated and aggressive.
“But we couldn’t get the cat away. After 15-20 minutes or so they went from the back yard to the front yard.
“At one point the snake came right up to our front door and was pressing the glass, so it was trying to come inside but then it lost interest.
“It all ended well enough. The snake had one go at biting her but missed, and eventually it left.
“The thing about it though is that we’ve got kids, and there’s a lot of families with kids around this area too so people are going to have to start being a bit more wary.”
While she didn’t get bitten by the slippery visitor, this story may still end a bitter end for Heather.
“There’s a flap in one of our doors for her to come in and out of the house but I don’t know if that’s a good idea any more,” Mr Merchant said.
“It’s one thing to have a snake in your yard but it would be different to come home and find one inside the house.”