[jadedlady]

To anyone who lets their pets out in their backyards, a word of warning. Hungry coyotes can and will scale the concrete walls that surround many of the properties here in Las Vegas. People always seem so surprised when a coyote is spotted in residential areas. But they do travel and are unfortunately the cause of many a pet's demise.

A case in California:

Resident dragged over wall trying to free beloved pet from coyote

“This was the first time I’d seen (coyotes) in my yard,” the homeowner said. “I’d never seen such big coyotes before.”

Miller said the coyotes in the area weigh up to 50 pounds.

“They can scale walls up to 9 feet high,” the animal control officer said.

“They’re thin and agile. They can get through anything they can latch their teeth onto and pull themselves over. If they’re hungry enough, they’re going to do it.”

A YouTube video from Scottsdale Arizona, another desert city:


Coyote in Scottsdale - YouTube

Some of the comments state the coyotes jump very high walls/fences with no problems.

PLEASE DON'T LET YOUR PETS OUTSIDE!

[gvc8]

I awoke one morning last year to find this critter inside our backyard wall


//www.city-data.com/forum/attac...118_062931.jpg

[BBMW]

I heard somewhere that the vast majority of cat matings are uncontrolled (ie not breaders), and the males are usually feral. This has the effect of keeping the species as a whole very close to it's original wild forbearers.

Yes, a pedigreed Persian would not do so well outdoors in Vegas, but it probably wouldn't do well outdoors anywhere.

Originally Posted by icarian

Certain cats BBMW. Egytian Maus (we have one) and many another short hair could no doubt handle it just fine (or as fine as any other animal--wait it out in some shade and prowl at night). Long hairs...no. Breeding has done that in on them (same for certain dogs, cows, goats, pick your poison...we like to mess with stuff).

[ElleTea]

My animals are not outside without me regardless of temp. Too many dangerous critters

[BBMW]

They live a lot longer inside.

Originally Posted by ElleTea

My animals are not outside without me regardless of temp. Too many dangerous critters

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by jadedlady

To anyone who lets their pets out in their backyards, a word of warning. Hungry coyotes can and will scale the concrete walls that surround many of the properties here in Las Vegas. People always seem so surprised when a coyote is spotted in residential areas. But they do travel and are unfortunately the cause of many a pet's demise.

A case in California:

Resident dragged over wall trying to free beloved pet from coyote

“This was the first time I’d seen (coyotes) in my yard,” the homeowner said. “I’d never seen such big coyotes before.”

Miller said the coyotes in the area weigh up to 50 pounds.

“They can scale walls up to 9 feet high,” the animal control officer said.

“They’re thin and agile. They can get through anything they can latch their teeth onto and pull themselves over. If they’re hungry enough, they’re going to do it.”

A YouTube video from Scottsdale Arizona, another desert city:



Some of the comments state the coyotes jump very high walls/fences with no problems.

PLEASE DON'T LET YOUR PETS OUTSIDE!

There is no doubt that coyotes can easily handle 6 or even 8 foot walls. Around here however they don't. The reason is that things that eat coyotes live in half the yards around here. I would also be very skeptical of a 50 lb. coyote. I have seen a couple of dozen over the last 15 years. The biggest I have seen was a nursing female in Spanish Trail that might have gone 30 lbs. Most are the size of my dog or a little bigger...25 or 30 lbs. I believe that is typical for the western coyote.

The cats here all climb trees and houses. So unless trapped they are going to get away.

Again all the problems we have had around here have dealt with other dogs.

[ElleTea]

There are a couple of stray cats who live at my apartment complex. They are on the roof often and manage to not get eaten. But, I have a nearly 19 year old cat who can't climb at all so I watch here carefully. I am happy she can live out her retirement years in a warmer place. The sun is good for her old bones

[NLVgal]

My neighborhood is funny about cats. (It's a very pet-friendly neighborhood- everybody's got dogs or cats around here).The cats have a scam going where most of them "belong" to multiple people in the neighborhood. My cat, Jedi, came back home after being out running around for a couple of days. It was obvious that someone had taken him to the groomer.

Another neighborhood cat, Sniffy, eats at my house whenever I'm around (though I know he has an owner). I guess he likes the brand of cat food I serve better than what's in his bowl at home.

[pommysmommy]

My cat loves to sunbathe. The heat doesn't bother her a bit.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

There are a couple of stray cats who live at my apartment complex. They are on the roof often and manage to not get eaten. But, I have a nearly 19 year old cat who can't climb at all so I watch here carefully. I am happy she can live out her retirement years in a warmer place. The sun is good for her old bones

I have a good old friend who lived for many years in a lovely place in La Cañada - up in the foot hills of the Los Angeles basin. He was a scientist type and had a theory on cats in the neighborhood. There were lots of cats...and they pretty much ran around freely. But there were no old cats. His theory was that between 10 and 12 years old the cat lost 500 milliseconds in the time to get up on a roof or a tree...and that was their margin over the coyotes. He thought it a good thing. No old cats suffering and you simply acquired another. The neighborhood saved a lot of money on older cat care and vastly increased the number of adoptions of cats from the pound.

And nature was served...