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 yesterday, 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 said.

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.



Originally published as Cat survives being shot 13 times in head