Pet Warning
 

A quick word of warning to anyone bringing over pets, especially cats and small dogs to the New England area.

On Thursday my wonderful Burmese cat who had been all over the place with me and moved countries twice with me was taken by a coyote. He wasn't out foraging in the woods, he was on the deck early morning.

After speaking to my local police and animal control, I've found out that I'm not alone and that several cats have gone in the last couple of months in my neighbourhood. Apparently coyotes are becoming a huge problem, especially in Mass which has heavily restricted the laws on controlling the coyote population. As I live on an island, the coyotes that are born here, stay here. Coyotes in Mass are also in very heavily built up areas too.

If you are bringing your cats over, try and keep them in as much as possible, and certainly from dusk til dawn.

May I offer my condolences to you Sibsie.

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I'm sorry to hear that. I know how upsetting it is to lose a pet. You have to watch out for coyotes in many places. I even saw one here in the suburban garden of a friend.

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Oh my gosh - that is awful. I am really sorry to hear this - my cat has also been everywhere with me and I can only imagine what you are going through.

Again - very sorry.

:(

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I'm sorry to hear that. We have two cats and we'd be gutted if anything happened to either of them. :(

Until I came to live here in the US I was unaware of the phenomenon of the "house cat". It is common in the US for people with pet cats to keep them indoors all the time, which would, or course, be a shock for a car used to going outside. We have two cats, and both, since they were rescued and brought indoors, have never been allowed outside - the younger one escaped twice and has experienced a total of about three minutes of freedom! :rolleyes:

There are, I'm sure, many reason why people do this - the numbers of cats killed on the roads, coyotes, neighbors dogs, the risk of rabies, hoodlums with guns using cats for target hunting practice, snakes, etc. All of these are real risks, and cat owners would be well advised to consider making their cats house cats too.

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I am so sorry about your lovely cat. I had a Burmese many years ago that used all his nine lives up one way or another. They are the most adorable breed of cat and I totally sympathise with you. Thanks for the warning. My 11 year old tabby lady isn't too keen on the outdoor world so that is a good thing. Does anyone know if coyote's are in suburban north Chicago area? Sorry once again Sibsie.

Maggie

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Oops... just seen your thread. Was this in the chicago area?

Maggie

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Sibsie is in New England, but the coyote I saw was in someone's garden in Northfield.

(Sorry, maybe you don't know all the suburds yet. Northfield is a northern suburb, near Winntka, Wilmette, etc. Coyotes are definitely in the whole Chicago area and have become suburban like London foxes.)

Sibsie, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. :( My heart goes out to you.

On the warning front:

My best friend lives in Santa Barbara, CA and has to be careful about not letting her little Lulu (cat) get eaten by mountain lions. They have spotted them in her neighborhood. In Missouri, my sister-in-law's chihuahua got attacked by a pack of feral dogs. It is important to become aware of the dangers to one's pet in the area they have chosen to live...but not just the wild animal aspect...parasites and viruses take our furry friends away from us also if not protected. And sometimes we simply can't protect them 100% of time. My little dog got a "very rare" and deadly virus which she had been vaccinated for...leptospirosis.

My husband's cat, Boston, came over from the UK. When Boston lived in London, he was allowed to go outdoors daily. But when he came here I strongly advised my husband to never let him out on his own. We have lots of stray and outdoor cats in our neighborhood which I'm afraid might be cause for concern when it comes to Boston's safety. Plus there are lots of wild critters we have roaming about regularly(we live in the city). The last thing I would want is for him to get into a fight with an opossum, raccoon or get sprayed by a skunk. The only time Boston has been outdoors since he has been in the US is when he is on a leash.

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Thanks Lion, I will make sure to keep a look out for them. We are quite a long way out and closer to the countryside than the city which I suppose is more of a danger perhaps?

Maggie

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Yeah, there are probably moose, bison and wolves out where you are.:D

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Sibsie,

So sorry to hear about your cat. We have a lovely Siamese cat, who also gets brave and goes out onto the porch. So far she has only been terrorized by the local tom cats, but I am always afraid of something worse.

Debbie

Sorry to hear about your cat Sibsie.

I was surprised when I first heard the term house cat. But now having lived here long enough to know thats its just not safe for him to be out there, other than on the patio when we are there to. Its now not so strange. My wife was getting ready for work around 5am two weeks ago only to find a family of foxes patroling our patio!. We have since had several fox sightings around the house. Throw in the Coyotes, Scorpions and snakes, and our kitty ain't going anywhere. My wife has a "friendly" coyote that often walks around outside her office.

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Ohh come on what did you expect to happen!! What you did'nt think that in this vast land of wilde animals that it was not going to be safe to let poor old Tiddles outside. Seriously did this ever cross your mind? Did you not check with a vet, animal control, neighbor before letting your cat out. Dumbass.
RIP Tiddles

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Hopefully that will be your first and last post. Dumbass. :rolleyes:

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Hey it's not my fault the cat is dead.

Sibsie

Just to say I'm so sorry about your loss :( I know how much your cats mean to you.

Jen

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And its not Sibisies either, not many people would expect there cat to be taken on their decking.

You could be a bit more sensitive, she's probably feeling bad enough as it is, if its travelled with her from country to country that alone should show that the cat was part of her family and important to her.

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It is, however, your fault that you are rude, insensitive, unable to put yourself in someone else's shoes, and, finally, that you feel the need to get on a discussion board just to demonstrate these qualities to the world.

Thanks for the lovely words people. As for Henry., well there's always one total wanker out there and he's it!

I'm sure the mother who's child got taken by a coyote on the Cape a couple of years ago didn't think to check with animal control before letting her child have some air either.

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Dah, show some respect butt munch,Sibsie has learned the hard way and thats nuff critism, loss is a loss no matter how:mad:

Too bad Henry George's mother didn't let him play out in the Mass. forests a little. Of course the coyote may have spit him out- I hear they don't eat piles of shit unless exceedingly famished.

Sorry for your loss Sibs, is there any hope he just got lost?

( errrr, bad time, I know... but I do have three kittens I am trying to gove away...could Fed-Ex you one overnight if you like
:scared: :rolleyes: )

Thanks Ironporer. We're going to move back to my hubby's farm as soon as we can. We were going to put it off til next year but I want to go sooner rather than later.

There's a load of barn cats there who are always having kittens so in time we'll either get one of those or try to track down one of Raffi's breed.

If I had been living in out in the wilds then I probably would have locked my cats in, but I'm in a little seaside town here, not the wilderness. All my neighbours let their pets out, the barn cats at the farm are fine and I thought I'd checked everything out. Of course it's only after the event that everyone tells you the horror stories.

I'll feel a lot better when we move. We do back onto woodland where we are now and although the farm is acres and acres, the llamas and horses apparently keep the coyotes at bay. When we move we'll be building a large cat run so at least they can still have some fresh air.

So sorry to hear your sad news.... Allways hard to lose a beloved pet.
We live in a residential area, close to the shopping mall and allways busy... BUT... about 500 yrds away from us on the other side it mountains and grassland.... A few neighbors lost their pets a couple of yrs ago in the same way as you....
We were lucky.
Our cat is 6 months old with a death wish, as it likes to tease the Rotweiller next door. Has the scars to proove it....:rolleyes:

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Hi Numb Nuts.. A nice sincere apology to Sibsie would be the right thing to do..Particularly if you want to enjoy yourself on this forum..We are very forgiving .. or not..

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TROLL ALERT

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So sorry to hear of your loss Sibsie. I used to have a Burmese, she was such a wonderful character so I know what you're going through.

Thanks Alison. They really are great cats. More like dogs than cats. He used to come rushing downstairs when he heard one of us coming in.

My hubby took me out to drown my sorrows, and boy did I ever.

In a little while we're going to try and track down his bloodline and see if we can get another Burmese. This is a pic I took of him the day before he went...

Gosh.... what a beautiful kitty...............

This is so sad.

He is lovely. Are you sure he's been taken away - is there any signs? Could he have been stolen?

Sibs, I am so sorry to hear of your misfortune ... I know how attached we are to our furry companions. Please accept big hugs from me and Harry (my cat).

I am so worried about taking Harry out to Tucson. My mother in law says that owls are a problem out there as well and are known to take small animals.

Again, big hugs - hope it helps.

Heather xxx

Sibsie,

I am so sorry to read about your loss :( I'm just so glad that my 2 cats are already house cats, they didn't thank me for it initially, but I am sure thanking myself now!

Josie

Sorry to hear about your kitty :(
We had two big geese that were eaten by coyotes too, but luckily no cats. I guess coyotes have started to come back around this area too for some reason

Thanks everyone. It really does mean a lot. I'm still totally gutted as is my other half and Raffi's sister. :(

My condolences. Cats here are strictly housecats. My husband lost a cat several years ago to coyotes when he lived in the valley - he was calling it at dusk and it was being defiant and refused to come in. He watched the coyotes take it right in front of him but was too far away to do anything. Another cat survived by crawling underneath some rocks and stayed there until he found it whilst searching, it was so weak it could hardly call out but was too afraid to head home.

They have also been known to take small dogs and children. They attacked adults last year in South Lake in broad daylight, going up to people and biting them in the street.

You are not supposed to shoot them here, I see them all of the time, saw one crossing the road in front of my car this evening as a matter of fact. I am generally very respectful of wildlife but well, coyotes I am not too fond of. I don't like things that would eat my family members :(

If they threatened my pet or my family directly I think somehow I'd shoot them and take my chances with the Sherrif's dept.

Remind me not to annoy you.:D :D

So sorry to hear that your hubby had this too.

Yes I know exactly how you feel. We've got a local campaign going to try and do something about it in the area. I've joined it. The best thing that Mass Wildlife Protection could come up with, was to keep all pets, including dogs and children inside at all times!

Sorry for your loss sibsie

These animals were here a long time before you or your cat were ever here, YOU are invading there territory NOT the other way round!!! What you suggest they do put anything that may be of danger to your cat in a cage??? Or why not just shoot 'em all!!!

And before you all accuse me of being a troll or a fake here is my cat with my girlfriend. I don't let him out because of the fear of being shot by gang members. Do reaserch about your area before you let your pets out is the lesson of the day!!!