It was a scene that wouldn't have been out of place in a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

A resident in Isleworth had laid down a mouse trap in a bid to stop rodents from running riot in their home.

But they caught something far bigger - when a stray cat sneaked into their home and became stuck on the trap.

The not-so-clever kitty got stuck on a piece of cardboard covered in a strong glue.

Unable to free his paws, he was stranded until the presumably shocked Isleworth homeowner found him.

Joe Tambini, the RSPCA animal collection officer called to the scene, said: “The glue traps had been left out by the homeowner to catch mice but sadly this inquisitive stray cat came a cropper when he crept into the home.

“The glue was all over his paws and he’d also become stuck to some cardboard which was tugging at his fur, so I had to carefully put him into the crate in my van, still with the cardboard attached to him.

“I took him to our Putney Animal Hospital where the veterinary team had to very gently bath him to remove the glue and the box so it didn’t hurt him in the process.”

The RSPCA urges people not to use traps like this

The black and white cat, aged between three and five years old, is neutered but doesn’t have a chip so the RSPCA believes he is a stray.

Named Walter by staff, he is now at an RSPCA rehoming centre and if no owner comes forward to claim him before October 8 he will be found a loving new home.

The RSPCA opposes the manufacture, sale and use of glue traps because of the “unnecessary suffering they cause to animals like this stray cat, but also to wildlife”.

“We urge people not to use these traps because they can cause so much harm to animals,” added Joe.