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Friends of Jamal Khashoggi have shared a heart-warming video clip of the Saudi journalist, filmed shortly before his death.

The video is taken from an interview with Khashoggi, which shows the journalist speaking about his family background before a cat jumps onto his lap.

He is briefly taken aback by the surprise intruder but begins to chuckle when it's clear that the cat feels quite comfortable on his lap.

When a member of the film crew takes the feline away, he continues to laugh before joking, "put it in the film".

The video clip, which appears to be an Arabic-language interview with Euronews, was shared on social media on Saturday. 

Those who knew Jamal said his warm interactions with the feline and crew, reflected his caring nature.

Khashoggi disappeared on 2 October after walking into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Reports have said that Khashoggi was murdered in the diplomatic building by a team of 15 Saudi agents, who returned back to Riyadh after the killing.

Saudi Arabia claimed that Khashoggi left the building after completing paperwork for his upcoming marriage to his Turkish fiancée.

Two weeks later, Saudi Arabia finally admitted that Khashoggi died at the consulate but claimed he was killed after getting into a "fist-fight" with 15 men at there.

The story that a 59-year-old journalist would attack the 15 agents - many who have been identified as military and bodyguards - has been ridiculed by people who knew him.

Khashoggi was known as a gentle, kind and gracious individual, and the cat video showed the real Jamal, those close to him said on social media.

His personality was certainly nothing like the account given by Riyadh, they said.