Protection is part of pet ownership

Re “Of all the ways to lose a cat,” Column One, Dec. 25

Your writer, Kim Murphy, praises herself for having given her cats “glorious food, a comfy bed, constant attention, frequent compliments, an annoying number of kisses and plenty of lap time” before they became seriously afflicted or dead under her guardianship.

Guardians of nonhuman animals must provide something more -- our protection.

One cat “sailed off” Murphy’s eighth-floor balcony. Another of her cats was “lodged” in the back of the clothes dryer, followed by another that “went through” the dryer. Yet another was killed by a bus.

Most recently, Murphy’s cat Bess was locked for almost nine weeks in a bench seat by a window in her own home, leading to the cat’s blindness and brain damage.

Each cat’s tragic affliction or death was preventable. Murphy dismisses her series of cat tragedies as “bad luck.” But they show a lack of common sense and care from the person who should have protected the cats.

How much more value there would have been if The Times had published information about proper pet guardianship instead.

Laura Beth Heisen

Winnetka

The writer was commissioner of the board of L.A. Animal Services, 2002-2003.