Studies Show Outdoor Cats Are Popular Prey for Coyotes

[XemaSab]

American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the leading bird conservation organization in the United States, advises that as coyotes continue to move into and around large cities such as New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Los Angeles, and others, owners of cats should think twice before letting their pet roam free outdoors. Studies show that outdoor cats make up 13-45 percent of coyote diets in those environments.

A study just published in the spring edition of The Wildlife Professional, focuses on the urban coyote reality and references sightings of the carnivore in Central Park and Manhattan. While coyote attacks on humans are rare, the study says that when human attacks have occurred, “…there is a correlation between high percentages of anthropogenic food sources – such as dog food, trash, and domestic cats.” It states further that reducing such incidents might require removing all exterior food sources, including cats.

According to one widely-cited scientific study on cat mortality from coyotes, Observations of Coyote-Cat Interactions by Shannon Grubbs of the University of Arizona and Paul Krausman of the University of Montana, coyotes regularly feed on cats. This study was published in the Journal of Wildlife Management, and chronicles researchers tracking coyotes in Tucson, Arizona, where 36 coyote-cat interactions were observed of which 19 resulted in coyotes killing cats.

Other studies have found that approximately 13% of a coyote’s diet consists of cats. However, in the Grubbs-Krausman study, of the 45 instances where coyotes were observed feeding, 42% of the meals were cats. The researchers concluded that any cat outside is vulnerable to coyote attack, and recommended that cat owners keep their cats indoors.

http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/120329.html

[GusBob]

1. Fox food

[CreekDog]

2. for the safety of cats and other animals, people should raise cats to be indoors

where they will be safer from many dangers.

[allforone]

15. That's a sad life for a cat

[CreekDog]

24. No, it's not

and it's better than the suffering from being eaten by a wild animal, from being injured in a fight or from being attacked, or from being hit by a car.

if you raise them to be solely indoors, they will be happy inside. they are not wild animals, they are domesticated.

[allforone]

25. Cats need to hunt , to feel grass under their paws, to chase a bird

The saddest thing is seeing a cat looking out a window all day every day.

[CreekDog]

35. Wild cats do, not so for domesticated cats

[Politicalboi]

28. 100% agree

Those aren't cats, they're ornaments. LOL! Every cat I've had is indoor outdoor.

[allforone]

31. The poster doesn't get it and never will

[Politicalboi]

36. I would never want to own an indoor only cat

If they eve got out, they would be terrified and run away possibly. And to never take a dirt bath would be cruel. LOL! They love the sun, the bugs, the grass, the trees. I don't like to see them kill, and if I can intervene I do. I've saved a lot of lizards throughout the years. They are lucky I'm not afraid of them to pick them up to set them free.

[Warpy]

39. Uh, no, it's not a sad life for a cat

The cat won't care if it's chasing rodents or birds or a toy on a string. As long as the cat is getting exercise and play, the cat is going to be happy. Add a cat tree near a window so the cat can climb and watch what's going on in the world, and you have a happy, well adjusted cat. Throw in a companion cat, and it's kitty nirvana, someone to play and fight with in a safe world with regular meals.

If "natural" was always better, we'd never have come down out of the trees. Remember, the life span of a feral cat who survives kittenhood is 3-5 years. My last cat, an indoor beastie, lived to 21. Average lifespan for indoor-outdoor cats is 7.1 years.

Cats are always on the edge of reverting to feral, never completely tame. If indoor only cats were unhappy with their situations, they'd leave.

[snooper2]

22. what about snow days, you make cats all have a sad

[CreekDog]

23. We don't have snow days

but we do have coyotes and cars.

[underahedgerow]

3. My studies showed that local coyotes in the Hollywood Hills routinely targeted feral cat colonies

in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. It was a sort of win-win situation. They helped cull the colonies and keep their populations down, and provided a meal now and then for the coyotes, keeping them off the household & domesticated pets.

I've always pushed the spaye/neuter agenda of course, and for keeping cats indoors, all the time. Cats can be so harmful to neighborhoods and small wildlife... I always felt it wasn't fair that neighbors were forced to encounter cat poop in their gardens when they had no cats, when dog poop laws were always a hot button.

[House of Roberts]

4. I keep my cats indoors

because of raccoons and possums. Not many coyotes in Alabama, but we are seeing a lot more armadillos.

[Journeyman]

5. My wife and I get up at night an accompany our small Papillon pooch outside . . .

Coyotes are quick, efficient hunters, and in our neighborhood they're becoming increasingly brazen. We had a pair of them stroll the streets of our community in the early evening hours last summer, and they regularly claim both cats and dogs for their feed. They can scale a six foot fence with ease and they are not afraid of humans. A woman at a local park, with her little dog on a leash, had it torn from her hands a few months back. It was the late afternoon and there were dozens of people and dogs all around her.

We live in their land. I read awhile back that there are as many coyotes here in Southern California today as there were a century ago -- maybe more. They are incredibly adaptive and high resistant to eradication. One local city opened it up for hired-gun trappers to try their hand at removing them, and after a two week probationary period they succeeded in trapping two coyotes.

Keep your animals in as much as possible. Don't leave food or water out in the back yard for your pets. And keep your trash sealed.

[TDale313]

6. Keeping pet kitties indoor only is best for all.

Indoor cats live longer, healthier lives. They don't disturb local wildlife or non-cat loving neighbors. As a cat lover, I would recommend it if at all possible.

[MADem]

7. I had two cats a while back--they went all over the world with me.

Expensive as hell to bring them along but they were good company.

They both lived to over 20--the vet was amazed at their fitness in their later years.

They rarely went outside, though one of them used to enjoy slipping out the door to the upper verandah and going up on the roof of my villa in Italy--scared the shit out of me more than once.

[Surya Gayatri]

8. I had friends in the suburban hills above San Diego who lost three

felines to the coyotes. Found their mangled remains.

I live in a big city and would NEVER allow a cat outdoors, even to walk along the gutters or on the roof.

[pansypoo53219]

9. my cats are hostages and have stockholm's and are close to 12 now. + are happy cats.

[newfie11]

10. Cougar and coyotes are equal cat fancier in my area

The rural SD Black Hills.
Years ago a family moved in from a big city. They were about 5 miles down the road and we stopped to welcome them.
The husband had convinced his wife to finally let her kitty out, as what could possibly hurt him out here.
The story goes, as she sets kitty down to check out its new freedom and their both standing there watching, a brave cougar streaks past. He picks up kitty in one swoop and was gone.
No divorce followed but I'm sure it was talked about.

[Binkie The Clown]

11. I visited my sister in San Diego in the 1970's, and went for a walk

in one of the many interesting little canyons around there. I was shocked to find assorted parts and pieces of domestic cats along the trail. I assumed it was coyotes at the time. I guess I was right.

[panader0]

12. I'm not sure a study was needed for this.

I live in the country and there are many coyotes, howling every evening and morning. We have lost several cats as dinners for them.
The cats wanted to be outside, the smart ones learned to climb the trees or get up on the upstairs porch. Coyotes are very smart
animals. I have heard them imitate a cat's meow to entice them. They disappear into the mesquites in seconds.

[brooklynite]

13. I'll take my chances

My cats love going into the back yard, and coyotes generally can't afford the bridge tolls.

[geek tragedy]

16. beware raccoons though

we've had them in our backyard.

[allforone]

14. Study showed water is wet

We needed a study for this..........

[CreekDog]

37. Science often studies things that you notice in the natural environment

Should we not study snow because you've already noticed winter is the cold season?

[undeterred]

17. My dog thinks cats are

fancy indoor squirrels. He's half malamute, and I wouldn't trust him off leash around a cat, ever.

[oldandhappy]

18. Tis true

Not a scientific study, but I live in a mobile home park that backs up to an empty track of land and the coyotes walk on the back wall checking for cats and small dogs. One neighbor walks her dog carrying a baseball bat and she has used it! I see this as a common sense thing -- no need for a study!

[hifiguy]

19. Well, duh.

A good friend of mine lives up in the high desert outside of Prescott AZ. He never ever lets his cats out for this very reason. Coyotes look at domestic cats as a snack and nothing else.

[snooper2]

20. since cats are eating like 83 Billion birds every year a lot of them are fat

Fat cats not as fast, Coyote be happy belly

[KamaAina]

21. Gosh, I hope Will Pitt doesn't see this

He believes that it was a coyote who got his cat buddy Boomer last fall. To my knowledge, he has not acquired another cat, although it is spring.

And I hope the coyotes do not make it to Oakland! The two meow people I sat for in January spend much of their time outdoors.

[rladdi]

26. Any small house animal or pet in Arizona is ripe to be taken by a coyote or fox. We currently have

4 cats and 2 small dogs missing in the neighborhood. In the early morning you can see them trotting down the sidewalk beside the road.

[Politicalboi]

27. I had 3 cats in Lancaster Ca

With Coyote droppings in our yard, and when we moved we still had 3 cats. Had a cat when I lived in Coarsegold Ca while Coyotes were howling across the street at night. The cat would come in at night, but still be out when dark. The cat still lives there with relatives. Cats are still more likely to get killed by a car than a Coyote. One of my brothers cats got killed by a car on a dirt road. Not one cat lost due to Coyotes.

[Gormy Cuss]

30. Cats are predated by coyotes 1)from dusk to dawn, 2)when the cat is very young, sick, or old, and 3)

when coyotes are hungry enough to stalk them in broad daylight in areas where coyotes normally wouldn't roam.

IOW, there's ways to mitigate risk but there's no guarantee that an outdoor cat or small dog won't be predated by coyotes.

[Politicalboi]

38. We were lucky not lose one to a coyote

But I would rather see them killed by a coyote than a car. At least a coyote kill will feed a coyote or it's young rather than rot on the side of the road. That may sound cruel, but getting hit by a car doesn't mean sudden death either. At least the coyote is part of the circle of life.

[NCTraveler]

29. Coyotes moved into my last neighborhood.

They didn't leave until all raccoons, rabbits, and cats were dead. The silence of the night would end once they cornered an animal. Brutal kills.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

32. I like coyotes. I don't like them eating our cats.

We have a lot of coyotes around here. When we moved here we had 4 cats. After we lost one, presumably to the coyotes, they became indoor cats. Time and old-age have reduced our flock to one fat&happy indoor cat. The coyotes still serenade us almost every night.

[Cleita]

33. I have lost a couple of cats to coyotes, but these were feral cats I fed and somewhat tamed

but that I couldn't bring in at night all the time. However, I have raised other cats to ripe old age, including the one I have now who just turned fourteen with one rule. They come in before sundown and don't go out until after sunrise. Coyotes usually lay low during the day because they don't like the cars and other motor noises humans make while going about their business it seems.

[Zorra]

34. I love cats, so I don't let one own me.

I could never lock any being up in a box for an extended period of time, and if a cat owned me, I would have no choice but to let them roam free, but then they would kill a lot of birds, and eventually get eaten by a coyote, owl, etc.

Dogs find it much easier to train me on how to teach them how to exist with minimal danger from the human world, enabling them to stay outdoors unfettered.

And smart coyotes generally don't mess with full grown Lab/Shepherds.

[hack89]

40. I see signs of coyotes on my property daily

There is a big pack living in the woods behind my house. Not only are my cats in door cats but we don't even let the dog out unless she is on a leash. Much too dangerous.