my cat got eaten

[Guest]

I'm living in CA, USA at the moment, and my cat has been missing for a day now. There are coyotes around here (Sonoma County) and we think he got eaten. Do coyotes eat cats? A bunch of google searches said no. Any personal experiences?

[Sir_Die_alot]

I think most people who say coyotes don't eat cats have an environmentalist agenda. A cat is the exact size of the animal's indigenous prey. While I'm sure there is a little truth to that idea in that a coyote that has never seen a cat might hesitate, a smart animal like that wouldn't take long to figure out housecat = easy meal.

Edit: After all that rewrite I wrote out and forgot to write back in we belive our own cat was eaten by coyotes a few years ago. She made it through a lot of things most cats would have died (smashed pelvis, frequent tree climber and bird hunter, we have 2 owls in a nearby tree). But when we started getting a decent amount of coyotes wandering around *poof* gone.

[Knijnknelis]

coyotes eat cat sized creatures? I dont know much about them but I think they eat smaller animals then cats. It's just what I think so I'm not sure.

[Guest]

Comforting. :'(

So what, you don't like enviormentalists?

[Guest]

In my searches, I found that they mostly eat rodents. It takes a pack of coyotes to take down a sheep.

[Sir_Die_alot]

According to information I looked up they are known to hunt deer. Fluffy by compairson is a very easy snack.

[Sir_Die_alot]

I don't like ones that make up obvious falsehoods to progress their agenda.

[Guest]

I looked up agenda on www.dictionary.com and I don't see how it fits in what you say. What does it mean?

[Dozer]

What they are trying to get accomplished. Their political goals, mostly.

[Chaerophon]

Here's the thing: I've seen the results of three coyote attacks on cats - trust me, they eat cats. The results were: two dead bodies and one three-legged cat. I've also seen the result of a coyote attacking a 20+ pound turkey - they eat turkeys too.

[DeeBye]

I don't think I'd jump to any conclusions based on your cat missing for a day. It's likely that your cat just wanted to wander around for awhile before coming home. I used to have a cat that would go missing for a week at a time every few months. I don't know what she was up to, but she seemed to enjoy her excursions.

I kinda hate to say this, but if your cat met with an untimely demise the most likely culprit was probably a car. I could see a coyote eating a cat, but I bet it's a rare occurance. Cats get smushed by cars all the time.

HERE KITTY KITTY KITTY!

[Munkay]

According to information I looked up they are known to hunt deer. Fluffy by compairson is a very easy snack.

I grew up in New Hampshire by 1200+ acres of woods directly next to me. I used to go hiking, biking, and cross country skiing all the time. I'm sure the coyotes we have here are different than those on the west coast, but I can confirm they hunt deer here. One day I came across a hunter while cross country skiing, and he was holding a deer he shot with his bow. The deer had scars and the mans comment was 'Musta got away from dem coyotes.' Yes, he was missing teeth. Yes, he really spoke with that accent. Plus one more than one occaision I've seen a pack eating a carcass of a deer.

Nothing like growing up around hicks and woods; all this time I thought I'd never be able to apply this knowledge to anything pertinent. :P

Cheers,

Munk

[Archon_Wing]

Wait, that could have been my thanksgiving dinner! :angry:

[Chaerophon]

I've lived next to a turkey "processing plant" all of my life. It's not pretty. That being said, the poor guys (and girls) are probably better off hanging by their ankles than mauled by a coyote.

From what I understand, the coyotes regularly make meals out of stray turkeys that have gotten away from the handlers unloading the trucks. You often see both turkeys and coyotes walking around in the surrounding field. On average, I probably see about one of each a week. Not a bad life for the dogs I suspect! Beats garbage!

[Artega]

Coyotes are essentially domesticated wolves (that is, they are the result of interbreeding between wolves and man's best friend), and wolves would have no problems catching and devouring small mammals like cats, small/medium dogs, and rabbits. A cat may have claws, but they're likely going to be little more than an annoyance to a wolf or coyote. Still, like the others have said, it's more likely Fluffy will become a pancake before she becomes breakfast. Your cat's probably fine, though.

[kandrathe]

Um, I don't think they are mongrel wolves. Canis Latrans has its own species, as do Wolves (Canis Lupus) and domesticated dogs (Canis Familiaris).

[Guest]

My cat came back at 1:45 in the morning, with a total of 39 ticks covering his head. He then ate cat food for ~7 minutes, and has been sleeping for the past 14 hours. :D

Does anybody know how to keep ticks off of cats?

[kandrathe]

Flea and tick ointment? Some people are rightly concerned that outdoor cats wearing any type of collar could become entangled in things and choke to death. But, some parasite born diseases are also lethal. Caring for a cat that spends time outdoors is many times more difficult. I would be most worried about Feline Lukemia (FLV), Feline Infectious Peritonitis(FIP) or Feline Immunodeficiency Virus(FIV).

Dogs, Cats, Ticks and You.

[Artega]

Could've sworn I made a reply post to this one, but I guess I dreamed it or something.

Anyway, I may have coyotes confused with dingoes, but I'm pretty sure that coyotes are essentially mongrel wolves, separate species or not. Then again, it may have just been something I heard when I was little.

[LavCat]

I am so glad that he came back! I missed the first part of the thread and did not see it until now. I once had a cat given up for lost show up six months later -- after we had moved about five miles away. I never would have believed that such a thing was possible.

My advice is to keep your cat indoors. No coyotes in this immediate vicinity, but there have been recent warnings posted of a possible cougar sighting.

Nits by the way are smaller than most ticks.