Coyote Kills Pet Cat After Jumping Through Window and Dragging Animal Out

A woman's cat has been attacked and killed by a coyote that dragged the feline out of her home in California.

The incident occurred on Saturday in the beach city of Encinitas, which is located just north of San Diego.

Coyotes are members of the dog family that resemble wolves in many ways but are smaller and more lightly built.

These animals are found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama all the way up to Alaska.

A coyote
Stock image: A coyote looking into the camera. A woman’s cat was attacked and killed by a coyote in Encinitas, California. iStock

Coyotes typically eat small mammals such as mice, voles and rabbits. But if the opportunity arises, they have also been known to hunt cats on occasion.

Dogs—particularly smaller breeds—are also at risk from coyotes, but attacks on them are rarer.

With regards to the incident in Encinitas, the cat, known as Luke, was resting at a spot near the window of the home where it liked to sleep.

The window is usually closed, but temperatures were particularly high on Saturday morning, so Encinitas resident Carol Kelly decided to keep it open.

At one point, a coyote spotted the cat by the window and jumped through the opening, ripping through a screen in the process. The coyote then dragged the cat away.

"I can't believe it because that's a high window. That's about eight feet," Kelly told KGTV.

"The screen was in the middle of the street. The whole place was demolished because I guess there was a big fight."

The next day, the woman's son found the body of the cat a couple of blocks away from their home.

Kelly said the cat, who she had kept as a pet for 10 years, was her "very best" friend and described it as the "love of my life," she said.

"Now I'm afraid at night when I go to bed. I lock my door, make sure all the windows are closed," she said.

Kelly's neighbors said they had seen more coyotes in the area this year than ever before.

"A lady stopped last week, she was out at 7 a.m. and there was four at the top of the street, four coyotes," Carl Walker, one of Kelly's neighbors, told KGTV.

Local residents have created a neighborhood group chat in order to report coyote sightings, Walker said.

Those with pets are taking precautions when they go out for a walk with their animals.

"People have whistles, a few people have stun canes or whatever. I carry wasp spray if I'm out by myself," Walker said.

Do you have an animal or nature story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about pet safety? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.

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Aristos is a Newsweek science reporter with the London, U.K., bureau. He reports on science and health topics, including; animal, ... Read more

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