I had a raccoon rip off half of my cats face,so yes I will shoot every one I see on my property also Porcupines. Going to the vet is not cheap.
I had a raccoon attack my cat and try and drag her off in his mouth. She's a Maine coon, so she's pretty big and the coon still got her. We scared it off and took her to the vet first thing in the morning and they said she wouldn't have survived the rest of the day. $400 later, she was fine but I also decided I'm not taking any chances with raccoons.
I'm sorry about your cat, raccoons are really nasty creatures.