A TERRIFIED cat was delivered to a pet shop with its legs tied up and wrapped in a plastic bag by an owner who was upset the kitten had grown.

The male black cat, named Bilbo by its rescuers because it was found in a “baggins”, is recovering from its ordeal at the Oakleigh Central Veterinary Clinic.

The cat’s elderly owner walked into the Westfield Doncaster store, Pets at Doncaster, on Tuesday about 11am with the six-month-old animal in a shopping bag perched on her walker.

Sales assistant Louise Hutton said the woman kept gesturing to the bag but could not speak English.

Ms Hutton asked a passer-by to translate for the woman, who said she wanted to surrender the cat because it had grown too big for her house.

“Word for word, she said: ‘The cat was small and her house was small, now the cat is big but her house is still small’,” Ms Hutton said.

As they were speaking, the store owner lifted the cat out of the shopping bag only to discover it was also tightly wrapped in a plastic bag and its legs were tied together.

“It was soft material but tied so tight we had to cut it off,” Ms Hutton said.

“The woman was laughing at us because we couldn’t undo it.”

Ms Hutton said she and her boss were horrified and, unable to communicate further with the woman, they asked her to leave.

They did not ask the woman for her details out of fear she would take the cat back, but said they planned to report the incident to police.

“The priority was getting the animal to safety,” Ms Hutton said.

Ms Hutton said the cat clung to her in shock after it was cut free.

Ms Hutton said in the five years she had worked at the store, the most common question she was asked about cats and dogs as young as eight weeks was, ‘Will it grow?’.

Bilbo was not purchased at the Doncaster store.

The cat was taken to Oakleigh Central Veterinary Clinic for treatment and to be vaccinated, microchipped and desexed before being delivered to Robyn’s Nest and all the Rest Pet Rescue.

Vet nurse Julie Splatt said Bilbo had runny eyes but otherwise appeared to be in good health.

If you can offer Bilbo a safe and loving home, keep an eye on the Robyn’s Nest and all the Rest Pet Rescue Facebook page.