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Norwegian police say a woman abandoned her cat behind baggage at Oslo's largest airport after she was turned away at the check-in counter.

The woman, who is in her 30s, was preparing to travel from Norway's capital to London, but was told that she wouldn't be allowed to bring her pet on board because she didn't notify the airline, Norwegian, in advance.

Instead of taking the cat home, the woman, not wanting to miss her flight, dumped it in a corner at the other end of the terminal at Gardermoen airport and returned to the check-in desk about half an hour later, said police.

The woman abandoned the cat in a corner of the terminal after she was turned away at the check-in desk

Police superintendent Solfrid Nyheim told the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) that two airline employees grew suspicious when the woman returned.

They found the abandoned cat in its cage when they did a search of the terminal, and took it to the police station at the airport, north-west of Oslo.

When police spoke to the woman she claimed that a friend had driven to the airport and picked it up after she was turned away from the check-in desk.

However, CCTV footage showed her ditching the cat and walking away, said police.

The cat was taken to a shelter in the city of Lillestrom, and the woman is facing a charge of animal cruelty, according to NRK and the Eidsvoll Ullensaker Blad newspaper.

Police said the cat has been taken to a local shelter and the woman is facing cruelty charges (file photo)

Ms Nyheim, who once adopted a cat found at the airport, said: 'We cannot return it to an owner who treats it this way.'

Norwegian Air Shuttle spokesman Lasse Sandaker-Nielsen praised the employees who found the cat.

He told the newspaper that the woman was not allowed to bring the animal on board because pets are not allowed in the passenger cabin on international flights and she didn't make special arrangements for it to fly in the cargo hold.