Coyote Food - You Are Responsible

[Jim Dixon]

Most everyone knows the Westside is fraught with coyotes.

What many people seem to think is that they just eat rodents. No, they also eat cats. I wouldn't say 'house cats' because a house cat wouldn't be outdoors.

I know, cat lovers are going to spout all kinds of stuff about why cats have to be outside. To those that say this, you are not an expert. Listen to the experts. If you really care about your cat, you will heed the professionals.

Despite popular belief, cats do not need to go outdoors or to roam.
Animal & Bylaw Services strongly recommends keeping your cat indoors
because indoor cats live longer, healthier lives.
While indoor cats can live up to 20 years,
the average life span of an outdoor cat is two to five years.

Spay—Don't Litter!

• cats make up at least two-thirds of the 4oo,ooo animals killed every year in Canadian shelters.
  
• In 2011, a Canada-wide campaign that addressed the issue of cat overpopulation and recognized that people, not cats, are the problem.
• A common misconception is that domestic cats need to roam freely in the outdoors. In truth, domestic cats are poorly equipped to navigate the minefield of outdoor risks that exist.
• Confrontations with other animals, including other roaming pets, feral cats, and wildlife, can cause your cat injury, or even result in death.
• Feline Leukemia, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), and rabies are just three of the deadly illnesses your cat can come into contact with from wild and domestic animals. In addition, outdoor cats are vulnerable to parasites such as fleas and tics.
• Some people mistakenly think cats are naturally "street smart." Vehicles are a serious threat to all cats allowed outside - and each day many are killed on roads.
• Allowing your cat to roam not only endangers the life of your cat, but directly impacts other animals and residents within your community.
• Roaming cats are common culprits in the deaths of wild animals, especially birds and small mammals. Placing a bell on your cat's collar is well intentioned, however, it fails to protect most small animals. The effect of outdoor cats on a local wildlife population can be devastating and cause unnecessary suffering to thousands of wild animals.
• Cats who wander may defecate in gardens and other undesirable places, kill birds at a neighbour's birdfeeder, or bother indoor cats visible through windows. These and other situations may damage your relationship with neighbors and lead to unnecessary conflicts for both you and your cat.
• Roaming cats that are not spayed or neutered contribute significantly to the ongoing pet overpopulation crisis. Sadly, thousands of cats are euthanized each year because there are not enough adoptive homes.
• When your cat is kept indoors, no one can complain about him. In order to avoid in any way creating a dislike for our pets, we must not let them disturb other people, nor allow them to roam on their premises.

They can't all be wrong. The excerpts are originals produced by government, professional cat breeders, veterinarians, and registered cat associations.


Plus, the following plants are toxic to cats.
Aloe Vera, Amaryllis, Apple (seeds), Apricot (pit), Arrowhead, Asparagus Fern, Avocado, Autumn Crocus, Azalea, Baneberry, Begonia, Bird of Paradise, Black Locust, Black Walnut, Bleeding Heart, Boston Ivy, Caladium, California Poppy, Calla Lily, Carnation, Castor Bean, Ceriman, Cherry (seeds, wilting leaves, and pit), Chinese Evergreen, Chives, Christmas Rose, Chrysanthemum, Clematis, Corn Plant, Crocus, Croton, Crown of Thorns, Crown Vetch, Cyclamen, Daffodil, Delphinium, Devil's Ivy, Dicentra, Dieffenbachia, Donkey Tail, Dumb Cane, Dutchman's Breeches, Easter Lily, Elderberry, Elephant Ears, English Ivy, Eucalyptus, Fiddle-leaf Fig, Florida Beauty, Four O'Clock, Foxglove, Foxtail, Fruit Salad Plant, German Ivy, Gladiola, Hemlock, Holly, Honeysuckle, Hurricane Plant, Hyacinth, Hydrangea, Iris, Ivy, Jack in the Pulpit, Japanese Yew, Jerusalem Cherry, Jimson Weed, Jonquil, Kalanchoe, Lamb's quarter, Lantana, Larkspur, Laurel, Lily, Lily of the Valley, Lobelia, Locoweed, Lords-and-Ladies, Lupine, Marigold (Marsh Marigold), Marijuana, Mayapple, Mexican Breadfruit, Milkweed, Mistletoe, Monkshood, Morning Glory, Mother-in-Law plant, Mother-in-Law's Tongue, Mountain Laurel, Mushrooms, Narcissus, Nephthytis, Nightshade, Oak Tree (buds and acorns), Oleander, Onion, Peace Lily, Peach (wilting leaves and pits), Pencil Tree, Philodendron, Pigweed, Poinsettia, Poison Ivy, Poison Hemlock, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac, Poppy, Potato (all green parts), Pothos, Precatory Bean, Rhododendron, Rhubarb, Ribbon Cactus, Rubber Tree, Sago Palm, Schefflera, Shamrock Plant, Snake Plant, Snow on the Mountain, Sorghum, Star of Bethlehem, Stinging Nettle, Stinkweed, Swiss Cheese Plant, Taro Vine, Toadstools, Tobacco, Tomato Plant (entire plant except ripe fruit), Umbrella Tree, Water Hemlock, Weeping Fig, Wisteria, and Yew.


OK, so you skipped all that. IMHO - If you still think you are a responsible and loving, and caring cat owner and let it outdoors, you can cross out responsible, caring, and loving. And, you should be held accountable for endangering your cat.

Lastly, do you know what a partially eaten pet cat looks like? I do. I've picked up the remains of three of them. A half of a cat from shoulders up, a large piece of hind skin with fur and tail attached, and a head and one paw. The rest of them were food for some of the coyotes, hawks, eagles, owls and/or falcon, or died from illness, vehicles, or herbicides, pesticides, nemtocides, used in yards, orchards, and vineyards.

I do NOT want to pick up pieces of your cat's. Please, think, exercise dome care, and keep your cat indoors. They get used to it very quickly. If your cat is yowling and howling, get it spayed or neutered.

J

*Sources: Ontario SPCA, Canadian Cat Association, Cat Fanciers Association of Canada, International Cat Association, American Cat Fanciers Association, Winnipeg Free Press, City of Calgary.

[Pkunko]

4 cats in 20 years, all outdoor cats, all lived to 15+ years. So much for the law of averages.

[grammafreddy]

I've got an 18+ yo indoor/outdoor cat now that I inherited.

My other cat is a 2 yo who was an indoor only cat when I lived in the orchard up in paradise - too many hawks up there.

Both cats are spayed. So is the dawg.

[Jim Dixon]

4 cats in 20 years, all outdoor cats, all lived to 15+ years. So much for the law of averages.

If you are an expert, then show your scientific studies and claims - and credentials. Until then, if you leave your *bleep* to roam, you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. If you are not an expert, and just a irresponsible cat owner letting it roam, then you are not part of the solution, but of the problem.

According to the professionals, not wannabes or pretenders, *"The average number of litters a fertile cat produces is one to two a year; the average number of kittens is four to six per litter". Let's say it's only three per litter. That's 6 cats in a year. Each of those, after 5 months old, can do the same. 6 have 6 who have 6 in one year. Do the math. If you open your mind trap a bit, you'll understand why there is a huge problem in European countries, the US and Canada. Only 10 percent of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered. There is a growing problem of feral cats... mangy, diseased, infested feral cats and the population has exploded. Thank you.



J

[Darlin06]

We moved here last year from Edmonton....and I thought the fact that you didn't have to license your pet kitty was ridiculous. After spaying my girl, it was still a $25/yr license...Why do they not do that here? Like dogs?? They make darn sure here that you license the family dog, why not the cat who is also outside and wherever else??
I certainly didn't see as many cats on the road or in my yard in Edmonton as I have here...I cant leave Glenrosa without having to stop on the road at least once for a kitty crossing....

[Jim Dixon]

I've got an 18+ yo indoor/outdoor cat now that I inherited.

My other cat is a 2 yo who was an indoor only cat when I lived in the orchard up in paradise - too many hawks up there.

Both cats are spayed. So is the dawg.

I take it you perused, and didn't read the post. But that's OK. It is your outdoor cat that I feel sorry for. Spayed nor neutering doesn't prevent them from eating poisons, or being eaten, or picking up a horde of various diseases, that can be passed on to you.

Instead of my picking up pieces of cat, perhaps the day will come that a wandering cat in my yard is at large, that it becomes my property. Then I will give it a nice meal, some water to drink, and then turn it in to the SPCA where, hopefully, they will find a responsible owner for it.

That is, until the city gets the tenacity and fortitude to do what many cities have done, make cat owners as responsible as dog owners. The turn-in rate drops, the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program starts to work, and there are fewer trips to the vet to remove parasites, boils, infected scabs, ad nauseum.



J

[grammafreddy]

Attack deleted by Trip.

[Jim Dixon]

We moved here last year from Edmonton....and I thought the fact that you didn't have to license your pet kitty was ridiculous. After spaying my girl, it was still a $25/yr license...Why do they not do that here? ....

Instituting a cat bylaw to protect cats, is thought by many councilors to be political suicide. Too many voters are cat 'leter-outerers' My words instead of irresponsible pe[s]t owner.

This year, three of the local felines have reduced the local quail numbers to 3 - adults - all chicks became cat toys. Know what 14 new born quail chicks look like? Cute, little bundles of fluff. Know what 14 of them look like after a cat has finished toying with them? I do. And some cat owners think that is funny.

Some people say quail are eating their flowers. Gads - some even think they are doing the neighbours a favour. They only see the bird pecking at the plant, and not seeing them eating the aphids, caterpillars and such that were eating the leaves.
Quail will eat new plants sprouts, like lettuce, but a net over that for a couple of weeks, remove it, and the birds will keep the bugs out and will not want the more tougher plant a food.

But you cannot tell some people anything. Their minds are closed and their cats at risk.

J

[Raven1]

The primary predator of the coyote is wolf and then cougar.

That is the problem within the valley, the natural predators are not sufficient in numbers to control the coyote population. When these events occur in nature usually it is up to man to assist, but here lots of luck with that. It is obvious that the coyote population needs a cull.

[Pkunko]

Nope, never professed to be an expert, just a simple observation based on my experience. Btw, all my cats were spayed/neutered, which I agree is a must.

Quote deleted/Trip

No doubt. It's too bad J, you often touch on meaningful topics, and we know you've always got something to add, it's just no one cares to listen to an insufferable know-it-all. I feel sorry for your cats stuck in the house with you all day.

Then I will give it a nice meal, some water to drink, and then turn it in to the SPCA where, hopefully, they will find a responsible owner for it.

Nope, it'll probably be stuck at the SPCA, not getting adopted as its too old until such time that they put it down to make room for more cats that you bring in under the guise of "saving them". Good idea.

[yaktak]

Deleted by Trip. Off topic.

[CoffeeCanuck]

JD, while I agree with your thoughts on responsible cat ownership, delivering it in a rather caustic manner is not conducive to initiating a thoughtful discussion.

There have been many threads pertaining to the indoor/outdoor debate. I have to wonder if anyone who believes it's a cats natural instinct to roam freely outside has had a change of opinion.

The roaming/feral cat situation will not go away, or at the very least, greatly decrease in numbers until there is a cat by-law in every community such as there is in Calgary. As for feral cats, I know there are organizations who trap as many as they can, take them into the vet to be de-sexed and sometimes inoculated, then return them to the wild per say. As an animal lover, I am against this. I think they should be humanely euthanized. Out where I live, there are many feral cat colonies. There is an organization called ca-r-ma (cat rescue maritimes) that works at improving the lives of homeless cats, but it's not enough. I just don't understand the TNR (trap, neuter, return) philosophy. Every spring, they go around to known cat hiding places and remove all of the dead cats who did not make the wintre.

I would like to see a big push, even mandatory legislation, that everyone must de-sex their cats. Cost is almost always a factor for many people. They get that 'free' kitten from the paper or a friend, but don't have the money to properly care for it, and before you know it, there is a litter of fresh new kittens, and the cycle goes on and on.

There are a number of solutions to cat overpopulation. You can't legislate responsibility and common sense into someone, but you can legislate consequences. Vets should all co-operate and offer free or low cost spay and neuter clinics a few times a year, to those in need, and all feral cats should be trapped and humanely euthanized. Any kitten that is adopted from a shelter or rescue should first be de-sexed before it goes home.

[mexi cali]

JIm, you're spot on IMO. Problem is, no one is listening nor are they likely too. I share your sentiments and thank you for the tocic plant update.

This has been an issue with me forever. I used to have cats back in my day and none of them were allowed outdoors for many of the reasons you cite.

My wish would be that if the cat owners who read this take away only one factoid form your OP it would be that there needs to be more consideration given to those around you who don't want to share in your cats adventures.

Killing small animals and birds may be natural to cats but when the small animals and birds are on my property, I shouldn't have to be picking up and burying remains just because your cat wanted to hunt. And then crap in my kids sandbox or garden where I will later dig it up.

Imagine that the attitude toward dogs was the same and cats were being hunted and slaughtered by roaming canines just lookin for a little fun. Bet you'd see less cats roaming the streets.

I don't know what it will take for this situation to change but one poster suggested while you can't legislate responsible pet ownership, you can legislate enforcement. But first there needs to be laws to enforce.

Cats need to be licensed and de sexed. just like some of our hillbilly neighbors.

[zensiert]

Jim, Dixon, you are absolutely correct in your initial post. Unfortunately, while you can lead a horse to water, you cannot force them to drink. People will not see reason even when confronted with it.

I often have an overwhelming urge to respond to all of those "lost cat" ads in the classifieds. While some are honest cases of an always-indoor kitty making a break through an open door, or escaping during a disaster like a fire or a break-in, the vast majority are outdoor cats which have suddenly stopped returning home. To which I sometimes want to reply, "congratulations on your conscientious feeding of our local coyote population, and/or creating another roadkill for our city crews to clean up. Maybe next time you will think twice about letting your precious cat out into such a lethal environment."

[Ali Gator]

So is it possible to turn a outdoor/indoor cat to a full-time indoor cat? Just curious if anyone has done that?