Chinese couple use 7-year-old grandson to save cat

Pets are often treated as part of the family. One elderly couple in China, however, is facing backlash after they went all out to rescue their beloved kitty, risking their own grandson's life in the process. 

The couple from Sichuan were caught dangling the seven-year-old boy from the fifth floor of a building by a rope in order to reach their stranded cat on Jan 5, said media reports.

Footage of the unorthodox rescue mission showed the couple, who remains unnamed, lowering the child from the fifth floor to a window ledge on the third floor as alarmed onlookers shouted in Mandarin: "You might fall! It's dangerous!"

Ignoring the warnings, the boy, secured by the rope knotted around his torso, shuffled along the window ledge to reach the cat on the fourth floor. The couple then pulled the child back up as he held the cat in his arms.

The video had Chinese netizens questioning if the couple valued the cat's life over that of their grandson and criticising them for endangering the boy.

A spokesperson for the neighbourhood committee told reporters that the family resided on the second floor of the building.

The boy, who was unhurt, had been left in his grandparents' care by his parents who were both working out of town.

The elderly couple reportedly said that they had "panicked" and "weren't thinking" and promised that they would not make the same mistake again after being counselled by the neighbourhood committee.

kimberlylim@asiaone.com