An Australian cat named Smokey survived 13 shots to the head from an air rifle and then found his way home after what police on Tuesday called a "shocking" act of animal cruelty.

A medical examination revealed 13 pellets lodged in his head and face. Sergeant Craig Pearse said it was remarkable Smokey had managed to get home after his ordeal. The nine-year-old moggy turned up on his owners' doorstep bleeding from his head last week, three days after he went missing from the family home in Maryborough, central Victoria.