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Observations of Coyote‐Cat Interactions
Author(s) -
GRUBBS SHAN E.,
KRAUSMAN PAUL R.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the journal of wildlife management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1937-2817
pISSN - 0022-541X
DOI - 10.2193/2008-033
Subject(s) - cats , felis catus , canis , wildlife , predation , felis , zoology , geography , veterinary medicine , biology , ecology , medicine
ABSTRACT Coyotes ( Canis latrans ) pose a risk to domestic cats ( Felis catus ). We captured, radiocollared, and tracked 8 coyotes from November 2005 to February 2006 for 790 hours in Tucson, Arizona, USA. We observed 36 coyote‐cat interactions; 19 resulted in coyotes killing cats. Most cats were killed in residential areas from 2200 hours to 0500 hours during the pup‐rearing season. Single coyotes were as effective killing cats as were groups (>1) of coyotes. Documented cases of predators killing cats could encourage cat owners to keep their cats indoors and assist wildlife managers in addressing urban wildlife issues.