Part of steel cable needed for lion, say (6)
I believe the answer is:
feline
'lion say' is the definition.
(lion is a kind of feline)
'part of steel cable needed' is the wordplay.
'part of steel' becomes 'fe' ('steel' is made from 'Fe').
'cable' becomes 'line' ('line' can be a synonym of 'cable').
'needed' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'fe'+'line'='FELINE'
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for feline that I've seen before include "Scots dish" , "Of or like cats" , "suitable for Skimbleshanks?" , "Like a cat" , "Pertaining to cats" .)