A family screamed in horror after their cat "proudly" brought in a snake and dropped it by the dinner table while they were celebrating their baby's first birthday.
Monique Shaw, 19, was at her sister's home in Pwllheli, having a party for her daughter Eden when the cat brought in a one-and-a-half foot adder just before they brought out the birthday cake, on May 29, reported NorthWalesLive.
The house is close to sand dunes which are a typical habitat for adders but they were shocked to see the cat bring in the snake which was dangling out of her mouth.
Monique said she saw the cat dropped the snake on the floor and then walked off while her aunt and mum ran into the garden.
The cat has brought in small lizards off the dunes before but this is the first time she'd brought a snake.
She said: "I was sitting in the living room when I heard my aunty scream and I saw her and my mum run outside.
"I wasn't sure what had happened at first. I thought maybe the cat had brought in a bird or a mouse until I heard someone say 'it's a snake'.
"She just wandered in and dropped it on the living room floor in front of everyone, really proud of herself. It looked huge, it was definitely more than a foot in length.
"There was a moment of panic as no one knew if it was dead or alive, but it didn't move so my uncle used a dustpan and brush to take it back to the dunes.
"Thank God he was there because the rest of us just stood around not really sure what to do. He reckons it was around 50cm in length. In fairness, the snake was probably more scared than we were.
"At least it'll be a good story to tell her when she's older. We'd actually taken her to Chester Zoo the day before and I'd been saying how it was a shame we didn't see any snakes, but we've definitely made up for that now!"
The adder is the only venomous snake native to Britain. Bites are more frequent in the spring as the snakes come out of hibernation.
They tend to venture out into the open to bask in the sun during the warmer months.
While dogs are usually more at risk of being bitten, in humans around 100 adder bites are reported each year in the UK, with most of them occurring in coastal counties.
Their natural habitat is in areas of rough open countryside, sandy heaths, rocky hillsides, moors, coastal dunes and hedgerows but are rarely found in gardens.
Adders are thick, stocky snakes which can grow up to 70cm long. It is it is illegal to kill, injure, harm, or sell adders under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
