Letter: Smaller cats need protection, too

EDITOR,
Recently there have been writings of mountain lions. I’d like to ask our neighbors for help protecting the lives of smaller cats. It has come to my attention that, in the month between mid-May and mid-June, three bobcats were killed; two “to teach my son to hunt” and one to “taxidermy a larger animal.” Neither of these reasons seems valid to take a life, especially of a beautiful and rare predator.
Also, domestic cat owners, please reconsider if you have decided to declaw. This procedure (outlawed in much of Europe, Australia, Israel, Turkey and Brazil), is more than permanently clipping nails; it severs their digits. Imagine chopping off all your fingers below the first knuckle. Then the family wonders why, often the confused and tormented animal is fearful, frequently biting and hiding. Better, is to cover areas of furniture, temporarily, with surfaces and odors unattractive to cats, perhaps using a squirt bottle to “shoo.” Also, provide areas where the indoor cat is permitted to scratch, which is normal cat behavior. It comes down to our connection with all life.
Ruth Caudell, Ben Lomond