A Long Beach man is behind bars today after strangling a cat intended as a peace-offer gift for his girlfriend in Redondo Beach, the Redondo Beach Police Department said.

Sergei Smirnoff, 23, was arrested at about 1:10AM at his girlfriend’s residence in the 2300 block of Carnegie Lane after police found him with the dead cat — named Roxy — in the garage, police said in a statement.

Roxy was intended to be a gift for Smirnoff’s girlfriend, who rejected it, police learned. Smirnoff then allegedly strangled the three-to-five-year-old rescued cat to death in the garage in a “fit of rage.”

Smirnoff was arrested and booked in Redondo Beach Jail for animal cruelty. He is being held on $20K bail and is due in Torrance Superior Court on Monday.