Sydney - An Australian woman braved bites and scratches to bring the family cat back from the dead with the kiss of life.
"His breath wasn't that bad - I'd do it again," mother of three Kelly Johns said Wednesday of the weekend drama at her home in Toowoomba, Queensland.
Johns sprang into action when 14-year-old Ally's heart stopped beating after he got his head caught in the automatic garage door.
"The kids were screaming 'Don't let him die' and he was lying on the ground so I turned his head and put my mouth over his mouth and nose, and gave him a few baby breaths," Johns told Australia's AAP news agency.
"I then massaged his heart with my two fingers."
After about a minute Ally made a "gurgling sound" and started breathing again.
Johns was taught the kiss-of-life technique by husband Stephen, a paramedic with the Queensland Ambulance Service.
"He was pretty impressed... if I can use it on the cat, I can use it on humans," Johns said.
Ally's treatment was rounded off with some tender loving care. Wrapped in a blanket, he was nursed in front of the heater for a few hours to ward off the shock of dying and then coming back to life. -
Sapa-dpa