Aussie cat survives pea rifle attack
3:05PM Tuesday Sep 22, 2009MELBOURNE - 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
