Cat-astrophe averted! Loyal pet saves 1yo toddler from falling down stairs (VIDEO)

A Colombian cat is stealing headlines across the country after video of the fearless feline saving a toddler from a nasty tumble down the stairs went viral.

Mother and proud cat-owner Diana Lorena Alvarez, 27, was astonished when she checked her home security camera to find out how her one-year-old son Samuel Leon had escaped his crib and why exactly he was cat-napping on the floor.

The footage shows the curious kid crawling past his empty crib toward the staircase on October 31. The hair-raising moment he heads for the door would be enough to make most parents shiver, but thankfully the family pet was on hand (or paw?) to save the day. 

Enter the grey Siamese cat, Gatubela, who pounces on the toddler’s back and pins him to the ground momentarily, buying just enough time to avert disaster. Gatubela then leaps in front of the inquisitive toddler, blocking the doorway to the stairs, batting him back with outstretched paws. 

The child resists momentarily, but soon realizes he’s fighting a losing battle with this cantankerous cat.

“I wanted to go back over the recordings so that I could see how he got out of his crib. It was at that moment that I discovered that the cat had saved his life. If it had not been for the cat my son would have rolled down the stairs,” Alvarez said. 

“Watching the footage, I felt really surprised and lucky.”

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