A cat in Chicago had onlookers gasping as it leapt from the fifth floor of a burning building.

Chicago Fire Department was in attendance and recording footage of the blaze being tackled on Thursday when the black cat appeared at a broken window.

After a short time assessing the situation, the moggy committed to its escape plan.

Prompting screams from some at the scene, the fearless feline soared through the air, over a wall, and on to the grass.

Having bounced off the turf it immediately wandered off, thankfully unharmed.

“It went under my car and hid until she felt better after a couple of minutes and came out and tried to scale the wall to get back in,” said fire department spokesman Larry Langford.

Mr Langford said he was attempting to find the cat’s owner.

The video has been viewed more than 200,000 times, while no injuries were reported after the fire.