Taipei  - A stray cat has saved the life of a man who fell into an open toilet and was stuck there for two days, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The Merit Times said Liu Young-hui, 68, a scavenger living on government welfare in a village in Tainan County, south Taiwan, is recovering following the incident early this week.

Liu, who lives alone, slipped and fell into a hole in the ground that he used as a toilet and was stuck there for two days.

He was saved after one of a dozen stray cats he fed regularly with leftovers showed up at the door of a neighbour and kept meowing until he followed him to the back of Liu's house.

The neighbour found Liu in the pit in human excrement and pulled him out with the help of other villagers.

They contacted a funeral parlour because they thought Liu was dead but when the undertakers arrived they found he was breathing and took him to hospital where he regained consciousness and is now recovering. (dpa)