A MICROCHIP implanted in a Cairns family's missing cat helped them track down their pet - inside a 4m python.

The owner of the Siamese-Persian said her cat went missing on Wednesday night and when she searched for it the following morning, she instead found a python with a suspiciously looking bulge in its belly.

"My heart started to leap and I thought, 'oh no, that's it’," the woman, who did not want to be named, said.

Wildlife rescue worker Michael Stevens took the python to Southside Veterinary Surgery at Woree, where vet Wade McAuley scanned it for the cat’s microchip and found a positive match.

"We did have him microchipped so that put our minds at rest, but it was still very sad," the cat's owner said.

The snake has since been released into the wild at the back of Edmonton.

A 5m python that stalked and killed a Kuranda family's pet dog this week is also set for release
after vet and reptile expert Andrew Easton gave it a clean bill of health.

The snake, nicknamed Fluffy, created headlines when The Cairns Post revealed how it ate the Peric family's dog - after pythons also ate their cat and guinea pigs.

"The snake is in a pretty healthy condition," Dr Easton from Kuranda Veterinary Surgery said.

"We've had a feel over him and we had a look in his mouth to see whether there were any injuries from his recent escapade.

"The only potential problems are things like collars, but most of the time they'll be passed right through."

Dr Easton said it could take the snake two to four weeks to fully digest his latest meal.

"If everything goes fine with him, we'll probably look over him once more before his release to make sure he has no diseases before he goes into the wild," he said.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife northern division spokesman Scott Sullivan said the amethystine or scrub python was the largest of the Queensland python species.

Mr Sullivan said the largest authenticated specimen was recorded at 5.6m, weighing about 28kg.

Share this article