A terrified cat owner begged her pet to 'back up' after making a surprise discovery under a boot.
Insurance analyst Christina Laughter, 38, from Florida, US, originally thought her mog was playing with a shadow.
She filmed herself saying: "I can't even make this up, for 30 minutes at least, the cat's been over here getting sketched out by a shadow."
The woman adds 'what is it, Barley?' as her cat stares at the boot, before adding 'now he's checking out the boot's shadow'.
The woman then lets out a blood-curdling scream as she spots a snake under the boot.
She shouts 'it's a f****ing snake' and urges her cat 'back up Barley, back up Barley'.
The clip ends with Christina running from the snake, however, her cat continues to sit nearby and watch the uninvited guest.
The snake looks less than half a metre long, and though it's dark colouring makes it menacing, it is of the common garden variety.
Christina ensured the snake didn’t venture around the house until her husband returned home and put him in the garden.
She said: “My husband was on his way home already.
“So I guarded the snake in the corner with my trusty broom until my husband got home, and then he put him back in the yard.”
Between 7,000 and 8,000 people per year have venomous bites in the United states, and about five of those die, said the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
However, the number of deaths per year would be much higher if people hadn’t sought medical care.
Disability and permanent injury, such as the loss or partial loss of finger or sensation, are much more common than fatalities.
