A cat was decapitated and its blood used to scrawl a threatening message on a garage door in what police are calling a "horrendous" incident at a Gold Coast home overnight.

The headless cat was found at the Arundel home when police were called there shortly before 3:00am.

The words "Whers my money? Tik tok! [sic]" were scrawled in red on the garage door.

A burnt-out car was also found in the driveway and what appeared to be a cat's head was left on top of the house's front door.

The RSPCA is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever is responsible.

Police had been called to the house after neighbours heard a loud explosion and saw the car on fire.

"It's quite horrific in nature in the fact that our inquiries indicate at this time that we have a cat [that] has been decapitated," Senior Sergeant Craig McGrath said.

"Initial inquiries indicate that the demand which has been written may have been written, in fact, with the cat.

"It's horrendous - not only for the residents but also the community as a whole.

"It's something which I haven't encountered previously. It's quite disgraceful."

Neighbours heard a loud explosion and later spotted a car on fire. ( ABC News )

Senior Sergeant McGrath says the residents of the home did not own a cat.

"Obviously the criminal investigation branch will conduct further inquiries with a view to identifying and arresting these offenders," he said.

"Having regard to the heinous nature of it we'd like to identify and arrest these offenders as quickly as possible."

Police have CCTV footage from the street where the cat's head was found.

Detective Acting Inspector Greg Aubort says police are trying to establish a motive.

"Obviously we're talking with the occupants of the premises and we're looking for those links which may shed some light on a potential motive for such and abhorrent attack on an animal," he said.

"The animal was foreign to the property itself - we can't find any link for the animal to the street or the vicinity.

"The reality is it is written in a red substance - the inference could be drawn it is cat's blood, but there's nothing to confirm or deny that at this stage.

"That's certainly something that we need to get to the truth of - what is that substance? Is it in fact the blood of the cat?"

RSPCA CEO Mark Townend says the Queensland Government recently toughened animal cruelty laws and the culprit should be prosecuted.

"There is a law now in Queensland - it's the toughest in the country - for people who are heinously cruel to animals," he said.

"We deal with about 13,500 complaints a year but we only deal with a few really bad ones like this.

"These are people in the community who shouldn't be in the community then, because if they do this to animals, they actually do it to people - it's been proven many times."

Police have appealed for anyone with information about the incident to contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.