Cats and Coyotes
Do coyotes eat cats?
Can a cat defend itself from a coyote?
Many people ask, "Do coyotes kill cats?"
"What are the chances a coyote got my cat?"
What happens when cats and coyotes are in the same area?
Most owners keep their cats indoors because of the risk of predation by coyotes. But many outdoors cats co-exist with coyotes as best they can.
Cats can actually escape from coyotes as shown in this lost cat coyote case, but national info on the risk to cats from coyotes, does not factor in cases of cats surviving a coyote capture like this. One study looked at what happened when cats live near coyotes in overlapping areas. This focus on free-roaming cats in Chicago provides some answers.
Chicago is one of the largest cities in North America with a human population of over 8 million. The study took place for two years in the suburbs, including public parks, conservation areas, and a private wildlife reserve. The research team was already collecting data on coyotes in this area, making it the perfect location for a study of how cats manage to co-exist with coyotes.
Traps, baited with canned cat food, were set up at the study locations and checked at least once a day. One of the sites was close to a cat colony, where a local TNR (Trap Neuter and Return) group kept an eye on the cats. Any cats that appeared to be owned in excellent condition, or wearing a collar were released.
Cats were sedated, weighed, measured, and blood samples were taken to test for four infectious diseases: feline leukemia (FeLV), FIV, feline heartworm, and toxoplasma gondii. Then they were fitted with radio collars and released in the evening, after they had come round from the sedative.
The scientists tracked the cats at night using the radio-collars. This is the time of day free-ranging cats are most active (although many owned cats adapt their routines to those of their owners).
There were 43 cats in the study, almost all adults, with an equal number of males and females.
The cats were all healthy. Other wildlife in the Chicago area was found to have a high rate of T gondii exposure, including raccoons, skunks and coyotes.
Thirty-nine of the cats were fitted with radio-collars. Only three of the cats were apparently killed by coyotes, two died after being hit by a vehicle, one died of disease, and they were unable e to determine the cause of death for two deceased cats.
Oddly, almost a quarter of the cats were kidnapped, “removed from the system by cat advocates” who were opposed to the study. It's not clear what happened to these cats. Another 28% were legally adopted or removed, the transmitters expired for 13% of the cats, and there was no data on the remaining ten per cent.
Data showing the range of cats and coyotes is fascinating. In general, the cats avoided the areas where the coyotes lived.
While coyotes were mainly found in woods and natural landscapes, the cats lived mostly in urban landscapes. One single cat lived in an area completely surrounded by coyote habitat. Sadly this cat was confirmed taken by a coyote.
One important finding to be drawn from this is that studies that estimate predation of feral cats probably overestimate it significantly if they fail to take into account the density of coyote distribution. This is because the coyotes were living in the areas with the most wildlife while the cats tended to stay in the more urban areas around people.
This study suggests that coyotes are one reason cats tend to stay in urban landscapes, but it does not prove this is the reason. However, the authors note that other studies in areas without coyotes do find free-roaming cats in natural landscapes.
Are your cats indoors-only or allowed outside? Do you see regularly coyotes within 300 feet of where you live?
Coyotes would rather eat easy prey away from human areas or snack on fallen fruit than go after a cat, although yes, it does sometimes happen.
Download the Lost Cat Kit and look for the chapter on coyotes, wildlife and key lost cat finder for tips on what clues to look for. The possibility that a coyote got your cat is only one of 8 probabilities, so don't fall into grief avoidance and assume the worst.
Your missing cat may be out there hiding, counting on your to find them first.
Reference
Gehrt, Stanley D., Wilson, Evan C., Brown, Justin L., & Anchor, Chris (2013). Population ecology of free-roaming cats and interference competition by coyotes in urban parks PLoS ONE, 8 (9) DOI:
NO CAT WAS HARMED in this video! Coyote tries to catch the cat. Failed attack. This clip shows how a coyote tries to draw a cat in and grab the cat by darting forward and back to make the cat panic. This cat was able to bluff the coyote and escape up a tree.