Cat Choked By Boa Constrictor, Saved By Man Who Wrestles Snake Away (VIDEO)

Cats may have nine lives, but it seems they still need a little help when they get stuck in a tight spot.

One kitty was in need of such a rescue when it was captured by a boa constrictor. Posted by Andres Gonzalez earlier this week, an astounding video shows a man stepping in to rescue the cat from the boa's clutches by wrestling the snake away.

The distressed cat is seen lying on a forest floor, unable to move. Attempting to pry the kitty out of the boa's tight grip, the man tries to unwrap the snake's coiled body from around the feline. He is eventually able to pull open the snake's mouth, which had fastened onto the kitty's back leg.

After the boa's head is pulled away, the rest of its body goes limp, allowing the cat to escape. The kitty appears to walk away relatively unscathed in the video. Gonzalez subsequently added that the lucky cat, seen later that day, appeared to be okay, Storyful reports.

Found primarily in Central and South America, the carnivorous reptiles prey on small and medium-sized animals by wrapping their bodies around their victims and squeezing tightly. A 2012 study found that boas literally squeeze the life out of their prey, feeling the animals' heartbeats slow with their coiled bodies.

Boa constrictors are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species' Appendix II, which includes species that may become threatened with extinction in the future. The Argentine boa subspecies (B.c.occidentalis) is threatened with extinction, according to CITES.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that the boa constrictor is classified as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. The boa constrictor's conservation status has not been evaluated by the IUCN.