Coyotes and bears oh my!!!

[fire1]

Our nieghtbor just came over to tell us that his cat got eaten and or killed by a coyote 3 days ago. Our kitty likes to play outside, usually in our yard, buthe does wander a bit. The neighbor alos said that the bears and coyotes have dragged off his trash can from his back yard and left poops behind to be very identifiable. This is very disconcerning. We have to make sure gus kitty stays inside, no easy task! I also worry a bit about my dog, but she owuld be no easy meal at 80-90 pounds. Anyoen else have these issues! maybe I should put a bell on kitty, you know to scare them off, LOL!!!;)

[Arrow]

It's a big problem where my sister lives in Colorado, haven't had that problem in Ohio yet, and I know we have coyotes.

[dustys_girlly]

i have foxes, coyotes, bears, and mountain lions in my area. so far i have lost 3 chickens but that is it. my cat is an in door/out-door cat and so far he has stayed alive. but my land lords have lost dogs, cats, and i think a horse as well to the wild life here. i just keep anything that would attract them locked up and horses pens are hot so it keeps the wild life out as well as horses in. that and keep a gun ready to go if something big walks up.

[WashingtonBay]

Sure, we have coyote issues.... The kitty is most at risk at night, less so by day. We try to get ours in before dark.

The bear is a bigger deal. You want to keep anything that smells good locked up.... no trash cans, feed bins, etc outside.

[Gypsy Rose]

I've thought of that hazard- putting food out for the skunks and coons at night, but after almost ten years of doing so, I've never seen a bear. The biggest worry was from the badger I had for a day or two 2 years ago, during our drought. I also had a very thin half starved fox hanging around for a while.

The only time I was worried about my kitties was when that badger was around- they can get pretty mean!

[TacheteTreasures]

My problem is more foxes here, although I have seen foxes.
Lost 1 chicken early morning to a fox, then 3 in broad daylight over the summer

[Sparrk]

Oh geez, they issued a wolf warning for my area a few weeks ago. The wolves aren't afraid of people and are taking down cattle, other livestock and pets. They approach in broad daylight and are not scared off.

Coyotes and bears are also all over my yard. At night we flash a light in our field and always see more than a few pairs of eyes. We make loud noises but it doesn't seem to bother them.

[mtnmollie]

I ran at 3 wolf pups screaming and yelling and they just looked at me. :rolleyes:

"maybe I should put a bell on kitty, you know to scare them off, "

will that work?

Sparrk- A bow hunter told me twelve wolves came by, stopped, and targeted him.

Then his partner showed up armed. Whew.

[fire1]

I'm sorry the bell thing is a joke, proably an inside joke that i only know, come to think of it.
Someone sent me a joke that read caution bear warning.
There are 2 kinds of bears out there, black bear and grizely bear. It is recommended you wear bells and carry pepper spray to scare them off. You can tell them appart by there poop, the black bear will have berries and stuff in it. The grizzly will have bells and smell like pepper spray!:innocent:

Okay that silly storey aside! Kitty will be locked up from now on except when we can watch him during daylight hours. This will seriously tick him off as he loves "sneaking" out the front door when we leave for work. He acts like we dont' want him out then runs outside, we could care less normally! We have tosn of coyotes around my barn, that is along way from my house though. My hubby said he saw some coyotes outside on the street the other night when he went out to make sure he had plugged his truck in. Darn things!

[Sparrk]

Ugh, I was told last night that I should be so lucky to have so much wildlife on my property.

Should I feel so lucky to be a bit frightened when I go out to the barn in the dark?

[mtnmollie]

Me too Spaark. The howel of the wolf is not a delightful thing to me.

Its a terrifying sound.

WE went for a hike yesterday, and left my dogs at home.

They were very sad; at being left behind.

Maybe I need to get some bells?

[fire1]

We dont' take our animals on walks around the house anywere. There are some really nice traisl around here, but i don't even take my horse on them. We take the quads, but only cause we can run faster the other way! My uhbby almost hit one, by accident. He came around a corner and there was a black bear right in the middle of the road, scared them both pretty good. Another ride I was on the quad behind him and he came to a screaching halt as a cougar went running right in front of him, looke dalmost like it had jumped over the front of the quad, it was pretty close, much to close for comfort!!

[cheval]

The coyotes will definitely go after the cats during the day. Is she and indoor cat? If not, you might want to think about that option.

We've getting more calls than usual about coyotes. If they are hungry enough they will try to go after the dog as a pack and together they could bring down a big dog, so just be aware of that too!

[fire1]

We have a chain link fence around our yard, so hoping emie would be safe as she wouldn't be easy pray. Gud is an indoor jiyy he jsut lieks ot play outside for awhile to annoy the birds and stuff. though with the cold weather he has been staying in, much to cold to be outside!

[cheval]

With the fence they shouldn't go in. I feel sad for the people that call in weekly about their cats being eaten, but we can't tell them anything except not to keep their cats outside and to make sure they don't leave food on the porch. :(

[fire1]

We are debating putting our garbage can in our garage. We have a fence and a dog, so we are not as easy of targets compared to all of our neighbors, with no fences and no dogs!
I'm hoping this will help us, we dont' leave anyting outside except garbage and all aniamls are in by dark time!

[TacheteTreasures]

Just a warning, a really determined animal can chew though chain link

[TLC97]

Well I have the coyote that thinks my property is his, ummm NO!! I don't like to share.
A friend who lives about 2 hours from me on the coast just had a relative come over and shoot a black bear. There was also one shot between where she lives and I do in a pasture with horses, it had been chasing the horses.

We keep our cat in at night, as do all the other neighbors around now. And my dog is a huge baby, so she is either right beside me or won't go away from the house lights.

[cheval]

Sometimes you gotta see the other side. When an animal gets pushed outside of its home boundaries (new developments, people moving more into the country), exactly where are they supposed to get their food? Or should they just be killed?

For bears, we will trap them and move them away. If they come back, they get trapped once more. If they still come back, then they are killed. But it's the same with coyotes, deer, possums, racoons. They all have to survive too. But when people are putting them out of their homes a lot of people don't care, they just don't want them in their back yards.

[fire1]

I have no issues with the animals and really dont' mind them there, I just do not want them snacking on my animals! I will do everything I can to keep gus kitty inside while i'm gone alos and at night. Poor guy was pissed at me this morning when i closed the door before he could go through. Emie has to be outside during the day, she, likes being in the back yard and I feel okay with her out there during the day and we are hoem at night, hopfully they will leave her alone, I would have proably have to get really pissed if they got her.

[WashingtonBay]

Do you actually hear coyotes at night or is the neighbor's report your only 'evidence' that it is coyotes who got the cat? Did the cat just disappear or did he find it or see it get killed?

I ask because in my experience, coyotes make themselves pretty evident when they are around. When we've had an active resident pack, we would be woken in the night by their yipping and calling and rallying in our back woods. I'd usually go out and spotlight them, often seeing them in the pasture, hunting for bunnies and rodents, and on a bad night when nothing else could be found, horse poop.

I tolerated them as long as they continued to make themselves scarce when confronted by my light. The group that got bolder than that, allowing them to be seen during daylight in my photo above, also disappeared soon after. Becoming bolder often gets themselves killed.

I guess what I'm saying is when coyotes are around we know it.

Cats disappear for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is getting hit by cars, and trash cans get knocked over by raccoons and neighborhood dogs, too. You may very well have coyotes, but unless you're hearing them every night, they aren't necessarily the villain here. There's lots of risks to outdoor kitties we have to consider and weigh against their desire to be outside.

[SedonaThunder]

The coyotes in our neighbors "back 40" are coming in closer and closer at night... the souds of their yipping and "rallying" as you call it, makes my skin crawl. I get SOOO upset everytime I hear them as I do have a barn cat but in her three years here she's managed to stay safe - I think she stays in the barn after dark. However, I do have another cat that spends his days hunting in the pasture and as they get bolder I get nervous that they'll come during the day... Bob plays with our dogs so I don't know that he'd be smart enough to know those coyotes aren't friends. I also have Lucy Goosie outside and I really worry about her too... but those coyotes would have to come through the pasture, under the fence and right up our driveway to get to her outside our bedroom window. It's been 28 degrees over night but I'm sleeping with a bedroom window open in case I have to go flying out there with a baseball bat one night.:(

Oh, and Miss Fire... I had to laugh at you saying something like "you might have to get mad if they got Emie" - that is the understatement of the year. You would be devistated and those coyotes would be hunted 'til dead... Emie is your little girl. :)

[cheval]

Winters coming so the coyotes are going to get more bold when it comes to getting food. There are so many coyotes around. You see them in downtown Vancouver (Washington) in the most bizarre places and they do act like dogs - they are so used to people.

WB is right about whether you are hearing them - a good indicator if they are around. Or coyote poops.

[fire1]

"
Oh, and Miss Fire... I had to laugh at you saying something like "you might have to get mad if they got Emie" - that is the understatement of the year. You would be devistated and those coyotes would be hunted 'til dead... Emie is your little girl. :)

Hell hath no furry like me if they hurt my emie!:nono:
The neighbors have seen the coyotes and the bears, and they have been leaving poop piles in the yard and out in the street. My hubby saw the coyotes the other night outside. We hear some stuff outside, but mostly I dont' hear much. The neighbor saw there kitty get taken, was my understanding. They have been watching the bears come around the yards every morning, I guess Emie is the soud off that the bears are there. She barks her head off when they come in behind our house. Behind our house is nothing but woods.