Cats becoming prey to coyotes

This summer, posters for missing cats have become nearly as common in some suburban neighborhoods as “For Sale” signs in front of houses. Your Turn: Despite the warnings of coyotes in neighborhoods, do you still let you pet out at night? Despite the news reports for several years now that coyotes, and more recently fisher cats, have become commonplace in Rhode Island, people continue to let their cats out at night and wonder why they don’t return in the morning. Cathy Lund, owner of City Kitty Veterinary Care, a cat-only veterinary office, says she strongly encourages her pet owners to keep their cats inside. She estimates about 90 percent do. She can recall only one cat in her practice surviving a coyote attack. “The mortality rate is pretty high,” she said. “Most cats are domesticated, overweight and a little sedentary.” Charlie Brown, a wildlife biologist at the state Department of Environmental Management, says he fields several hundred calls annually from people who are concerned about coyotes, and often their concerns begin with their pets. He tries to make it clear: coyotes are now in every community in Rhode Island, except for Block Island...projo.com