Coyotes, a real pet threat Options

[terio]

I live across from a canyon that has many coyotes..it's their home and they aren't going to be relocated. Even the street smart cats aren't safe.. some of my neighbors have outdoor cats that have lasted a long time..but all to often I see the "missing cat" signs at the gate to my neighborhood. I also volunteered at the animal shelter and every Sunday we'd have a flood of cat owners looking for their missing cats... I have 2 indooor 3 year old cats...they are happy because they were raised as kittens to be indoors... I'm not saying this to make anyone feel bad... just to know that in coyote areas there is no way to insure they won't get your cat. Of course there are hazards indoors too.. medicines ect... but it is an alternative to be considered. As far as the turkey bones ect... also no one should leave pet food sitting outside for their animals as this can also attract them. Thanyou for sharing about the risk with us kit's dad...

[kitdad]

The problem is that coyotes find it easier to take domestic cats and small dogs, rather than wild prey, after their first success. Pets are creatures of habit and have to return to the home. That makes it very easy for the coyote to track them. I read one website where they said 50 cat collars were found in one coyote den. Its not about inside or outside so much: one of my neighbors had their small dog grabbed and taken while they were walking it on a leash. Another had its dogs attacked while they were in the yard (they survived thanks to a quick thinking owner who hit the coyote with a piece of wood). The argument "its only their nature" falls apart then - would you stand there and let your pet be taken because you live next to the coyotes' home? I don't think so.

When the coyote population expands beyond its natural number because they find food from human activity there is a problem. Then I think a case can be made to thin them. There are, however, alternatives to killing them. I felt useless with a coyote standing on my front yard. He saw no danger. But now I have a pellet gun. He will learn that taking pets is not such an easy alternative to rats & mice. It will not kill him but he will feel pain. I was advised by a very experienced woodsman (actually a lifelong dam keeper) that coyotes quickly learn from the very sharp sting of a pellet and will keep their distance.