The urban coyote has made a name of itself as a fierce nocturnal predator that is known to prey on smaller animals. While you normally see coyotes prey on rats, rabbits, birds, and smaller animals in the wild, they will not hesitate to attack a cat or a dog if they come across one. Coyotes may be shy from human and you don’t find many incidents of them attacking humans. They are, however, becoming more urban which means they encounter our pets and they will not hesitate to attack them.

Coyotes are smart animals and know exactly what to attack. You will rarely see a coyote attack an animal bigger than it. So cats and smaller dogs would be in threat when around a coyote. They may even attack bigger dogs but those are not a common instance that occurs. So if you live in an area where coyotes have been spotted, you may want to take some precautionary measures to ensure your dog and/or cat stays safe from coyote attacks.

Tips to keep your pets safe

• Coyotes usually hunt for food, they are also at times playful and hunt for fun but it is mostly for food. To ensure that coyotes are not attracted to your home or area you need to do the following:
• Don’t leave food out that a coyote can track and eat, including pet food. Coyotes are known to constantly come to an area where they have found food, so never intentionally feed a coyote.
• If you have a barbecue grill be sure to clean it properly after use and keep it away inside a garage.
• When leaving trash out, secure it in a bin. Coyotes are known to dig through trash that is left out for food.
• If you have a fruit tree then you should make sure to pick up any fruit that has fallen and doesn’t let them rot on the ground. Fruits are a part of the coyote’s appetite and they enjoy eating various types of fruits and berries.
• Fence your yard properly. Coyotes are athletic and can scale fences up to 7’. You want to make sure your fence is higher so that coyote can’t easily come over. Also, be sure it is deep cause they can dig under it too, we recommend at least having it 2’ into the ground.

Those tips should help keep coyotes from your home and yard. You also want to make sure that you don’t let your pets roam freely in the yard all the time especially in the night. The night is when coyotes usually go out looking for prey so keep your pets inside.