Aussie cat survives pea rifle attack

MELBOURNE - A brave Victorian country cat shot 13 times in the head with a pea rifle has survived the brazen attack.

Smokey, the nine-year-old moggie, was shot 13 times by a .22 calibre rifle on Monday, with most of the pellets since removed and the cat remaining in the care of a vet.

RSPCA Victorian president Dr Hugh Wirth described the act as "utterly disgraceful".

He said the cat was expected to recover.

"This is typical of a whole range of attacks on animals, whether it's the city or the country," Dr Wirth told AAP.

Bow-and-arrow attacks on cats, and shootings of larger birds like swans were on the rise, he said.

He said there was a "well-established link" between cruelty to animals by young people and harm to other adults later in life.

Dr Wirth urged parents to teach young children to respect life.

- AAP