Woman uses CPR to bring cat back to life

BRISBANE - A Queensland woman has brought her beloved cat Ally back from the dead with the kiss of life.

And despite receiving a bite for her troubles, Kelly Johns said she would do it again - cat breath and all.

Ms Johns said the life and death situation occurred when the garage door closed on her 14-year-old moggy's neck.

"Ally ran to get out of the garage and the garage door, which is remote-controlled, locked on his neck and the switch wouldn't work," she said from Toowoomba today.

"I had walked into the house so I didn't know, but my son Matthew went back into the garage and saw him and came back screaming hysterically.

"We tried to get the door up while the cat wriggled in his death throes - from the inside of the garage you could only see his wriggling body."

Ms Johns said by the time they managed to release the garage door from the feline's neck, he had clearly stopped breathing.

"(The three) 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 breathes," she said.

"I then massaged his heart with my two fingers."

She said after about 60 seconds, she heard Ally make a "gurgling sound" before coming to.

And the owner's reward?

"He sank his teeth into my hand and locked his jaw but it didn't stop me -- I got a neighbour to come over and blow two more breaths into his nose over my hand.

"His breath wasn't that bad - I'd do it again."

Ms Johns headed to hospital soon after the weekend drama for a course of antibiotics.

Her husband Stephen, who is a Queensland Ambulance Service paramedic, taught the CPR training course she attended late last year.

"He was pretty impressed because he taught me ... if I can use it on the cat, I can use it on humans," Ms Johns laughed.

"I also wrapped him in a blanket and nursed him in front of the heater for a few hours to ward off shock - he is pretty good now but he was wobbly on his legs the next day."

- AAP