COYOTES AND YOUR PETS
August 2005 CASE FILE: Indoor-only cautious cat jumped from 2nd story balcony...........Missing one week.
This is a picture I took of a coyote at 9:45 a.m. while driving up to an apartment complex in So. CA to look for a lost cat. Owners said there were "no coyotes!!" Search Dogs led to a bloody collar and cat fur within one half hour. The owners confirmed this was their cat's collar and matching fur. Owners had searched this area several times for a one week period and had not recovered any evidence.
Coyotes can survive in urban areas as long as there is food and shelter available. They use ravines and other natural corridors to travel between developed areas. They will eat rodents, birds, rabbits, carrion, insects and ripe fruit. In urban areas, they add garbage and domestic pets.
October 2006 - CASE FILE: Outdoor access bold personality cat missing one week. This cat had been allowed to roam outside for 10 years.....
Shown here is a coyote photographed outside of a Saratoga, CA home during the early afternoon where the above-mentioned outdoor-access cat went missing. The Search Dogs did lead to matching fur remains and blood evidence about 1,000 ft. from the point last seen.
Coyotes are vicious predators. We have built up so much in their territory, sometimes leaving them little to hunt. It is best not to let cats roam outside or leave small dogs unattended in your yards. Motion detector lights should be in place. Ripe fruit that has fallen off trees should be picked up.
If you have a small dog, you can always rescue a big dog from a shelter to deter any predators.
August 2007 CASE FILE: Outdoor access cautious type cat...missing 3 days. Allowed to roam outside for 5 years.
Bag of cat's fur found by Search Dogs at coyote impact site one block away.
October 2007 CASE FILE: Small breed dog missing 5 days..no leads no sightings. Dog had been alone outside at 8:00 a.m. with another dog. Had lived there for 8 years.
Trailing Dog indicated dog taken over fence by predator. Blood remains found nearby by our Evidence Detection Dog.
Prints of wildlife jumping over fence into private yard. The owners did not even notice these prints!
November 2007
This is a picture of a coyote around NOON right out side my front door. Note how close the coyote is to my dogs. Very scary.
I recommend motion detector lights around the perimeter of your home. Small dogs should NEVER be unattended or left outside without large dogs. I personally feel cats should NEVER be outside. Think of alternative methods such as containing them in a cattery.
2007 - Coyotes in Palm Springs "stalking" us as we were working the Search Dogs. (See the one coyote under the yellow star - there were other coyotes in the brush behind). They stayed with us for 2 hours.
ALTERNATIVES FOR OUTDOOR ACCESS CATS
After working nineteen years in the field, I strongly advise family cats NOT be left unattended outside! Also, do NOT leave your small, toy breed dogs unattended.
Cat cages built off balcony of home - real nice!!
Large outdoor cattery with dog run used as cat cage in back yard......
Below: Lampshade enjoying her outdoor time safely inside her cattery with yard access and the cat-fence-in product.
Oh, and here comes Baby Girl!!
"Wow, this is nice!! I don't need to be outside with the coyotes and cars and other things that can happen to outdoor access cats." "I'm purr-fectly happy in here."
The fencing is turned down so the cats can't climb over... www.catfencein.com
EXCERPT FROM "CAT CRAZY NEWSLETTER"
DR. JON, DVM
People often ask me: "How Long will My Cat Live?"
Recently, I saw a client with a 22-year old cat. If I didn't know how old this cat was, I'd guess he was 10-years-old.
Today cats live longer than ever. Just 20 years ago the life expectancy of a cat was four to six years; today they live 15 years or more. Life expectancy in cats depends on many things, but the most important factor is whether he is an indoor-only cat or an outdoor cat. Life expectancy varies significantly between the two.
Indoor cats generally live from 12-18 years of age. Many may live to be in their early 20s. The oldest reported cat was 28 years old at the time of death.
Outdoor cats generally live to be around four to five years of age. Their deaths are typically due to traumas such as being hit by a car, predators, and dog attacks. Outdoor cats are also more susceptible to several deadly viruses that are spread by fighting or prolonged intimate contact with an infected cat.
Keep your cat healthy by feeding a high quality diet, providing routine vaccinations and physical examinations.
If money is tight and you are not sure if you will have the money for routine examinations (or even worse unexpected illnesses), then I recommend Pet Insurance. A pet insurance policy, will generally cover wellness exams as well as unexpected illnesses. If you don't have pet insurance, it is a good idea to learn more about the benefits of pet insurance. Go to www.petinsurance.com
Well, I hope your cat lives a long and healthy life. That is one of the reasons why I take the time and energy to write this newsletter and why I started Petplace.com. My goal is to share with you practical information that will help keep your cat happy, healthy and alive longer!
From: Dr. Jon (drjon@petplace.com)
Sent: Wed 9/24/08 9:25 AM
To: caninesearchdog@hotmail.com
.
July 2009 Coyote in Los Angeles, CA
Middle of the day....residential area
Coyote stalking............
From: PhotoJaq@aol.com
Date: Fri, 3 Jul 2009 05:17:40 -0400
Subject: Re: Cat & coyote incident
Landa,
Two weeks ago today - in broad daylight - a coyote came on my property and chased my cat up into my hay barn and grabbed him. I heard it screaming and ran out, screaming myself, and started chasing the coyote. It ran, with my cat in its mouth screeching and thrashing. I was absolutely panicked as it ran towards our back fence. Right at the end, I tripped and fell on one knee (another story) and the coyote dropped him (maybe from my crashing sound) before it went over the fence. Poor Mikey was in shock and frozen in place.
I took him to the house so we could both calm down and eventually checked him over. I couldn't find any puncture wounds around his neck, although a toe had been torn. He could walk, so no spine injury. I thought he just needed to rest - and then, I had to work in Pomona for two days.
On Sunday night he was very sick, and I found another puncture wound on his back near his kidneys, and the foot was quite swollen. The vet said his temp was 107, but after x-rays and blood test said no internal bleeding or organ failure...just infection. After a night there, lots of antibiotics, pain meds, and a rabies booster I brought him home, with a near normal temp and instructions to use warm compresses on his back.
Next day the abscess opened and drained for about 6 days. His foot is healed now, and he's getting back his energy. He even tumbles a little with my other cat, then lays down in exhaustion. But he's eating much better and looks bright eyed. He still will not go near the back door (fine by me), and is very jumpy and skittish at sudden noises.
ANYWAY, I should tell you that Doc let me write a story about it - with tips on how to deal with coyote encounters - for The Foothills Paper. It didn't make it into this week's edition. Maybe the next.
Sun Valley, CA
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August 2018 7:30 a.m. Lost Cat Case in La Crescenta. Coyote aggressive and barking and following me and Diana.
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