A couple would have lost their lives to fire that gutted their building late night if not for quick and timely alert by their pet cat.

The Pennsylvanian family was deeply asleep when their house started blazing from the attic and spread to the bathroom around 1:30 a.m., according to firefighters.

The cat reportedly walked to the sleeping couple, woke them up and signaled them that something was wrong.

The McKeesport Fire Department said: "Fortunately, both were in bed at the time, and the cat actually alerted them. The cat came flying into the room. They thought that was unusual and they opened the bathroom door and found the fire."

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From all indications according to the firefighters, but for the intervention of the cat the fire outbreak would have been fatal. They were able tp walk out of the building unhurt.

Deputy Fire Chief, Tom Perciavalle told KDKA-TV that: "Another hour or two hours, the fire would have gained some momentum and they probably wouldn't have awakened through it. So, fortunately, they'd just gone to bed and the cat came."

He added that: "We found no smoke alarms in the house. Fortunately, the cat was on top of its game there."