'I left my cat at mum's house for a month and he was unrecognisable when I collected him'

A woman who left her cat with her mum for a month was astounded when she returned to discover her pet had transformed dramatically.

Lina Redford entrusted the Abyssinian cat, Sinbad, into her mother's care while she took an artist's residency.

During this period, the feline lived a very different life which created a remarkable difference by the time Lina came back.

Lina has since revealed what happened to her four-legged companion. Lina's mother had animals of her own who were "pampered" generously with toys and treats.

However, it was the treats which alarmed Lina, who discussed the startling change to her cherished pet with Newsweek.

She said: "I travelled to Prague, where my mum lives, and I stayed there for two weeks until Sinbad got accustomed to the changes. Of course, I was sad leaving him for so long, but I wasn't nervous.

"I couldn't believe that my hyperactive cat managed to get that fat."

It appears Sinbad's substantial weight gain stems from her mum's experimentation with the cat's diet.

She continued: "My mum, in a message, said, 'I was testing new food brands and flavours, but he was eating everything okay, except for the rabbit.."

Prior to being delivered to her mother's residence in Prague, Sinbad weighed approximately 12 pounds. Following her journey, Lina reports the cat now weighs 14.7 pounds.

Lina elaborated on what transpired in greater detail within the comments of a now-viral Instagram post. She penned: "How it happened: my mum has two lovely Bengals, who know their limits and I left my cat with her while I was away, but he doesn't know his limit neither he understood that he couldn't steal food from Bengals."

The public were swift to voice their opinions on the situation.

One individual commented: "Oh no. This would make me so mad. You trusted them with your cat and they abused it. That cat is probably so uncomfortable I hope he lost the weight."

Another chimed in: "I would be absolutely furious."

A third remarked: "How does one manage to get such an athletic breed to fatten up like this like I just can't fathom how an Abyssinian ended up like this."

Sinbad has since shed the extra pounds gained during his stay with Lina's mother.

The artist revealed: "She felt like she overdid it with Sinbad, but she tried to give him more exercises and made him run upstairs and downstairs to lose weight."