Letter: More thoughts on cats, coyotes

EDITOR:
In the September 2 edition, Tove Beatty warned about the epidemic of disappearing cats from the Felton Flats neighborhood (“Cat-eating coyotes worse than nuisance,” page 6). First of all, to Tove and anyone else in the area who has suffered the loss of a cat, my heart goes out to you. Truly. But something that Tove wrote really has me perplexed — “those of you who want to tell me to keep my cats inside, spare me.” Spare you what? Spare you the pain and sadness of losing your pet?
I have to say I really don’t comprehend why, as Tove said, it’s “not always easy around here” to keep a cat inside. What is it about “here”? And I’m not even sure where “here” is — is it downtown Felton, greater Felton or the mountains in general?
I completely understand the frustration with trying to get help from the various agencies, like Animal Control. It’s true that it’s difficult to get a satisfactory response, especially when, as Tove says, there is a gap regarding responsibility. We had the same problem with coyotes in Los Gatos. The agencies kept referring us to each other, and round and round it went.
Don’t expect that “gap” to be filled anytime soon. We are all ultimately responsible for our cats’ safety. Again, I’m sorry for everyone’s loss.
Charlotte Ivory, Felton