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There are many dangers to cats who are allowed outside: car traffic, parasites, diseases, traps, poisons, hunters, cruel people and altercations with wildlife. However, one of the most dangerous, and yet seldom recognized dangers to your cat is the coyote. In Michigan, coyotes are becoming a rapidly-increasing danger to unsupervised small pets, especially cats.

Coyotes are smart, adaptable, and extremely adept at staying out of sight, even living in rural areas and in close proximity to humans. If you think you don’t have coyotes in your area because you don’t see them, think again. Diminishing natural habitat from development and the growing population of both humans and coyotes increases their presence in urban areas.

Coyotes are resourceful and move into areas where they can find food sources, cover and water. They can range from 8 to 12 miles, and the range size will depend on available food sources, as well as the number of other coyotes in the area.

One of the coyotes’ favorite and easily attainable food sources is, unfortunately, the small pet, especially cats. Cats (as opposed to dogs) are most often allowed to range outside with little supervision and have become a favorite of the urban coyote. Small mammals are preferred foods, however, they will eat nuts, berries, seeds, plants, frogs, snakes, birds, garbage, and carrion. Some learn to kill larger animals such as goats, sheep, calves and poultry.

Coyotes rarely attack humans. However, coyotes that are fed become accustomed to people and present a human safety risk, in addition to a danger to your small pet. People should never intentionally feed or attempt to approach, touch or tame a coyote. People are most likely to see coyotes during their breeding season, which occurs in Michigan from mid January into March. As fall approaches, pups begin dispersing from the den site to establish home ranges of their own. These young dispersing animals sometimes wander into urban areas. Coyotes are active day and night; however, peaks in activity occur at sunrise and sunset. Coyotes generally feed at night.

Reduce your risk of attracting coyotes:

• Eliminate all outside food sources, especially pet foods
• Put garbage out the morning of pickup day
• Clear out wood and brush piles; they are good habitat for rats and mice and may attract coyotes
• Good husbandry practices, guard animals, and coyote control measures can help to protect livestock
• Do not allow pets to roam free when coyotes are present - keep pets indoors or accompany them outside, especially at night

For more information go to: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr

Tam Norton
Veterinary Assistant and Feline Aficionado

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine confirmed that the H1N1 virus has been isolated from a 13 year old cat that was experiencing difficulty breathing and a loss of appetite. As I mentioned in the previous posting, if you have symptoms of influenza, please take the same precautions with your pets as you would with your human family members to prevent spread of the virus.

For additional information on the H1N1 virus, please visit the CDC website.

Steve McBride, DVM

Attention ferret owners: the H1N1 virus in ferrets. This is not surprising given that other forms of influenza have been known to infect ferrets. If you own ferrets and have signs of the flu, please treat your pet as you would any other family member: wash your hands frequently and try not to expose them to your respiratory secretions (from sneezing and coughing). It is best to allow another member of the family to care for your ferret until you are well. If your ferret does become infected, let us know immediately!

Steve McBride, DVM