Coyote problem

[Gravy]

I'd try to catch and dispose of crazy cat lady's coyote snacks first. Eliminate the temptation for the yotes.

 

[jeeper]

Buys property with open space and river acces to enjoy the wild and open space. Wants to prevent the wildlife from enjoying pesonal space. Ironic.


But kill all the cats. Please.

 

[Greg]

We had a neighbor that was leaving a large cookie sheet filled with cat food out for all of the feral cats in the neighborhood. It caused a lot of problems for us, and our local animal control said they were unable to really do anything about it. They recommended I trap and relocate the cats. That's what I did.

Thankfully, that neighbor moved away.

That's the easiest solution! I wish our neighbor would move!

That whole compensatory natality thing with coyotes is classic publish or perish junk science, in my opinion. Only the tiniest scraps of data have ever been collected to support the structure of the theory built upon that data. And I've talked to one of the men who actually collected that data and he has a COMPLETELY different but WAY more simple explanation for it.

Anytime you have to ignore the simple explanation to build an elaborate but far more interesting explanation that purports to show a fascinating "new" discovery, I smell bullshit.

The fact that several very prominent and successful careers were built off those studies only making it more suspicious, in my mind.

You do have to kill a large majority of them several years in a row to actually curb the population though. That, is a fact. One which has tons of data to support it and has been modeled over and over again. But which does not require the slightest bit of compensatory natality.

- DAA

Thanks for weiging in Dave, I value your experience!

I knew a lady when I was growing up that had a lot of feral cats around her house. She had what she called her "cat box" which was a box with a flexible hose coming out of it so she could put the cats in the box and connect the hose to her car's tailpipe. It was kinda like the Auschwitz for cats.

On a different note I find this fascinating. I haven't actually read the book "Coyote America" but according the to the author, Dan Flores, killing coyotes is not an effective method of population control because when there population decreases they increase their litter size to make up for it.

"One of the other adaptations they have is that, whenever their populations are pressured, their litter sizes go up. The normal size is five to six pups. When their populations are suppressed, their litters get up as high as 12 to 16 pups. You can reduce the numbers of coyotes in a given area by 70 percent but the next summer their population will be back to the original number. They use their howls and yipping to create a kind of census of coyote populations. If their howls are not answered by other packs, it triggers an autogenic response that produces large litters."

Interesting.... I don't think we have a big population here in my neighborhood, but just a rouge coyote wandering thru and finding a cat along the way. But I'm assuming, it could very well be something else.

Could it be a raccoon? my old man had one at his place slaughting the Chickens and rabbits. Caught it with a trap and disposed of it. He catches a feral cat about once a month I’m convinced they are mini mountain lions.

It could be, I've seen them in the yard and captured one on the game camera a few times in the last few months. I didn't think a Raccoon would kill a cat, but perhaps?

A live trap may work, but you will be dealing with a whole bunch of angry cats before you ever see the 'yote. The only reliable way I know of to deal with coyotes is to call and dispatch them. If you have dogs, let them go all around the property and mark. If there has been a canine intruder they should smell it and mark a boundary. We have a similar situation, but with a fox and skunks. I don't know if you have chickens, but roosters help. My two roosters are pansies, but they do enough to keep stuff like skunks and raccoons out of the coop.

Yep! I have thought about calling them and seeing if I can get one to come in. We had a dog, but she was put down this January...

I'd try to catch and dispose of crazy cat lady's coyote snacks first. Eliminate the temptation for the yotes.

We've actually rounded up several and taken them to the pound.... but it has been done with care and so she doesn't know. There is a delicate balance with maintaining a decent relationship with a neighbor and slowly removing her cats w/o her knowledge.

Buys property with open space and river acces to enjoy the wild and open space. Wants to prevent the wildlife from enjoying pesonal space. Ironic.


But kill all the cats. Please.

Personally, I have no issues with the wildlife... I actually love seeing all the wildlife in my yard, so I don't see any irony. My wife however, does have an issue with whatever is killing cats on our property. She breeds expensive hybrid cats ( yes, it's a thing) and her prize male lives outdoors. She wants to ensure that he doesn't get killed and ruin her breeding program. I can understand that.

I don't care for the feral cats at all... they climb on my cars, shit in my yard and leave dead birds around. Though they're feral, they're still my neighbors pets... I'm not going to kill them.

 

[Hickey]

Sounds to me like you just need to let nature take it's course, and insure your own cats are harder to get at than the feral cats.

 

[Greg]

Sounds to me like you just need to let nature take it's course, and insure your own cats are harder to get at than the feral cats.

Sounds easy enough... Catherine would be devastated if her Male got killed. Perhaps I'll beef up the cat house and leave it alone.

 

[Spork]

Could always do something at the perimeter of your cats if you were worried. Something dumb like this would probably keep them away.
https://www.amazon.com/Scarecrow-Motion-Activated-Animal-Repellent/dp/B000071NUS

 

[thefirstzukman]

Any updates on this Greg? I agree with Dave, if you have Coyotes anywhere near you then you would hear them for sure. I've always thought cats would be great Coyote bait. The only way to eradicate coyotes it to remove their major food sources, they are great scavengers and opportunists, but when major food sources like rabbits and birds are far and few their numbers decrease and they move on. So if it is a coyote, kill the neighbors cats and all will be well.

 

[Troop92]

We had a neighbor that was leaving a large cookie sheet filled with cat food out for all of the feral cats in the neighborhood. It caused a lot of problems for us, and our local animal control said they were unable to really do anything about it. They recommended I trap and relocate the cats. That's what I did.

Thankfully, that neighbor moved away.

We have a neighbor that is doing this. No less than 10 feral cats in our cul-de-sac, and the animal control hippie woman said they were "community cats" and won't do anything but trap them, spay/neuter then and return them. Yes, return them... They're crapping in my yard where my kids play. Not cool. I might have to get creative.

 

[Greg]

Any updates on this Greg? I agree with Dave, if you have Coyotes anywhere near you then you would hear them for sure. I've always thought cats would be great Coyote bait. The only way to eradicate coyotes it to remove their major food sources, they are great scavengers and opportunists, but when major food sources like rabbits and birds are far and few their numbers decrease and they move on. So if it is a coyote, kill the neighbors cats and all will be well.

Nothing worth reporting. My trail camera has been set up ever since I started this thread and last time I checked, I have not captured any photos of what killed the cat on our property.

I would love to get rid of all the feral cats in our neighborhood, but that would really bother my neighbor who believes she is rescuing helpless animals.

I'm just curious to know what killed the cat, without knowing what animal did it, it's hard to decide what the next step would be.

 

[Hickey]

I would think feral cats would do pretty well in your neighborhood without any human assistance. Cats are great hunters, but only when they are hungry.

 

[DAA]

I'm just curious to know what killed the cat...

Curiosity killed the cat. Everyone knows that .

Had a mountain lion the other day, in some oak brush, hard to see. My daughter started whistling at her and she jumped up on a stump to get a better look at us. Put herself up in full plain view. Have had similar experiences with bobcat, where their natural curiosity has caused them to do some seemingly strange stuff.

- DAA

 

[jeeper]

We have a neighbor that is doing this. No less than 10 feral cats in our cul-de-sac, and the animal control hippie woman said they were "community cats" and won't do anything but trap them, spay/neuter then and return them. Yes, return them... They're crapping in my yard where my kids play. Not cool. I might have to get creative.

This is the new TNR program that our cities are being bullied into using. My kids are allergic to cats, like bad allergic. With the TNR, I have no legal way to remove problem cats. If I do something about it myself, it’s animal cruelty charges. Stupid stupid stupid.

 

[Hickey]

This is the new TNR program that our cities are being bullied into using. My kids are allergic to cats, like bad allergic. With the TNR, I have no legal way to remove problem cats. If I do something about it myself, it’s animal cruelty charges. Stupid stupid stupid.

SSS...

 

[rholbrook]

I got tired of the neighbor cats using my grandsons sandbox as their bathroom. I bought a motion detected rain bird. Works great, it even keeps the neighborhood kids out which I don't care if they play in it but I have to keep reminding them that the sand needs to stay in the sand box and not on my grass. Technically, both problems solved.

 

[frieed]

I'm just curious to know what killed the cat, without knowing what animal did it, it's hard to decide what the next step would be.

Jeffrey Dahmer's grandson

 

[Troop92]

I got tired of the neighbor cats using my grandsons sandbox as their bathroom. I bought a motion detected rain bird. Works great, it even keeps the neighborhood kids out which I don't care if they play in it but I have to keep reminding them that the sand needs to stay in the sand box and not on my grass. Technically, both problems solved.

Not sure how to apply that principle to my flower beds and parking strips...

 

[rholbrook]

Not sure how to apply that principle to my flower beds and parking strips...

You are close, come borrow it for a few days and test it. The flower beds are easy, parking strip a little harder.