Coyotes are adaptable predators increasingly common in various environments, including urban and suburban areas. Their presence often raises concerns among pet owners, particularly those with cats. Understanding coyote behavior and capabilities is important for ensuring the safety of domestic pets.
How Coyotes Use Their Sense of Smell
Coyotes possess a highly developed sense of smell. Their noses contain over 220 million olfactory receptors, significantly more than the 5 million found in humans. This allows them to detect and differentiate a vast array of scents, even faint ones, from considerable distances, potentially over a mile away under favorable conditions.
Beyond their primary olfactory system, coyotes also utilize a specialized organ called the vomeronasal organ, or Jacobson’s organ. This organ, located in the nasal septum, detects non-volatile chemical signals, including pheromones. Coyotes can even redirect exhaled air through slits in their noses, enabling them to smell continuously without interruption. Their reliance on scent often surpasses their eyesight and hearing for navigation.
Why Coyotes are Drawn to Cats
Coyotes are opportunistic predators. Domestic cats, especially those allowed outdoors, can be perceived as prey. The scent left by cats, such as urine, feces, fur, and dander, acts as an indicator of their presence and can attract a coyote.
Hunger and territoriality are primary motivators for coyotes. When a coyote detects a cat’s scent, it can trigger a hunting response, particularly if other food sources are scarce. While coyotes typically prey on small mammals, they are known to adapt their diets, and cats have been found in the scat of urban coyotes. Factors such as the cat’s size, vulnerability, and ease of capture also influence a coyote’s decision to pursue.
Protecting Your Cat from Coyotes
The most effective measure to protect cats from coyotes is to keep them indoors. This eliminates the risk of encounters with coyotes and other outdoor dangers like traffic, diseases, and parasites. For cats that require outdoor stimulation, supervised access in a secure catio, which is an enclosed outdoor space, provides a safe alternative.
Also, eliminate attractants that might draw coyotes to your property. This includes securing trash in animal-proof containers and avoiding leaving pet food or water outdoors. Fallen fruit and bird feeders can also attract coyotes, so it is advisable to remove these food sources.
Securing your property with appropriate fencing can deter coyotes. Fences should be at least six feet high, with coyote rollers on top to prevent climbing. These rollers are tubes that spin, making it difficult for an animal to get traction. Extending wire into the ground or installing a wire apron prevents digging underneath fences.
If a coyote is encountered on your property, hazing can scare them away and reinforce their wariness of humans. This involves making loud noises, waving your arms to appear larger, or throwing small objects towards them. Continue hazing until the coyote leaves.