How To Protect Your Cat From Coyotes – 6 Safety Tips!

Anytime a cat comes into contact with a coyote, it can be a scary sight. While cats are agile creatures and very intelligent, it’s always concerning when it comes to knowing how to protect your feline from predators such as coyotes.

You are not powerless when it comes to coyotes; you can take measures to protect your cat from coyotes. An encounter with a coyote could be a catastrophic situation, so it is better to protect your cat before it becomes too late. Below are 6 steps detailing how to protect your cat from coyotes.

1. Keep Your Cat Inside

The best way to protect your cat from a coyote is to keep your cat inside. This is especially important if you live in an area that has a known coyote population.

Not having your cat outside means that the coyote will not be able to get to your cat.

The easiest way to keep your cat inside is by never letting them outside, so you need to be proactive instead of reactive. A cat who does not go outside will be less likely to attempt to run out of the house whenever a door opens.

A cat that goes outside already will be harder to train to stay inside, but they will eventually learn that they are not allowed outside. 

2. Keep Your Cat Inside During The Night

You may have an indoor, outdoor cat, which means that it will be challenging to keep your cat inside at all times.

If this is the case for your cat, it is essential to have your cat come in during the night. Coyotes rarely attack during the day, but the evening, night, and early morning are some of the most dangerous times for your cat. 

Try to call your cat back inside for dinner each night. Many cats like routines, so after your cat begins to understand what time dinner time is, they’ll start beating you to the door!

3. Fence In Your Backyard

A fence will do wonders to keep coyotes out of your yard, but it is essential to remember that fences are not 100% effective. 

A coyote will stay away from a yard with a fence around it for the most part, which is an easy way to drive coyotes off. 

The taller the fence, the better. Chain link fences are common, but a coyote could dig underneath the chain link fence and get into your yard. Choose a fence that is solid and dug into the ground. 

Wooden fences are one of the best options because it is difficult to get beneath them. Make sure to replace any problem fence pieces. Do not allow significant gaps near the ends and corners of your fence because a coyote will be able to sneak through.

4. Do Not Put Food Sources Out 

Do not put food outside.

Food sources can include cat food if you like to feed stray cats. The smell of food will draw them closer to your property.

Protect your garbage as well. Food scraps could attract coyotes too. It is difficult to hide your garbage, but you can put it in a closed can. 

Like garbage, compost piles can also attract coyotes, so keeping these compost piles sealed is essential.

Coyotes may come into your yard if you have a garden or livestock too. Coyotes aren’t as likely to go after your garden, but they may go after livestock like chickens. Make sure to bring your chickens in at night to avoid them being eaten by coyotes.

If you do keep cat food out for stray cats or your own cats, make sure that the food is elevated off the ground. It will still attract coyotes, but the coyotes will not be able to get the cat while their defenses are down as they eat. 

5. Put Lights Outside

Lights scare and deter coyotes.

One option for lighting is floodlights that kick on when something walks in their path. This sudden flash of light could startle coyotes away from your property.

Other coyotes may be smart enough to know that floodlights are not a foe. You can also purchase lights that blink or flash red, which could also startle coyotes and send them running out of your backyard.

6. Make An Escape For Cats

If your cat goes outside, it is vital to have an escape for your cat. This can be done in several ways.

Have a cat door into your house or at least onto a screened-in porch. Your cat will be able to bolt inside if he feels like something is wrong. Coyotes may be smaller animals, but they will not be able to fit through the cat door.

Make what is called a “cat post.” A cat post is precisely what it sounds like: a large block of wood that stands about 10 feet high. Your cat can use his claws to climb up the post and stay up there until the coyote finally leaves. A coyote will not be able to climb the post. 

Are Coyotes A Danger To Cats

Coyotes can be a danger to cats, both domestic and feral.

Cats are small animals, which may make a coyote see the cat as an easy game for prey. 

Coyotes are not a danger to a cat at all times of the day, so you should not worry about your cats all day if you think you have coyotes on your property.

Your cat is most likely to get attacked by a coyote at night, early in the morning, or early in the evening. Few coyote attacks happen during the day, so if you have a cat that likes to go outside during the day, your cat will be safe.

If a coyote travels in a pack with other coyotes, your cat is less likely to be attacked than if a single coyote hunted it. A large pack of coyotes will be more concerned with the larger game to feed more pack members.

Can A House Cat Outrun A Coyote

A house cat cannot outrun a coyote.

You might think that your everyday house cat can run extremely fast. While this may be true, cats are not fast enough to outrun coyotes.

You may have never seen a coyote run before, but coyotes can run up to 40 miles per hour. Some coyotes could even run faster than that, but most run at least 35 miles per hour. 

On the other hand, a cat can run as fast as 30 miles per hour, but this is if your cat is at a constant, full sprint. 

Even at your cat’s fastest, your cat is not fast enough to outrun a coyote. 

If faced with a coyote, one of the best options for your cat is to try to fight back to keep its life.

Can Cats Fight Off Coyotes

Despite the difference in size, a cat can fight off coyotes.

Cats can put up a fight when they want to, and if they do not want to be caught by a coyote, there is a chance that a cat will be able to fight off a coyote.

Cats have sharp nails and teeth, so if a cat starts clawing at a coyote, the cat will likely do some damage to the coyote. 

Coyotes also hate being startled. A coyote that thinks a cat will be an easy kill will get scared if the cat suddenly starts attacking, jumping, scratching, hissing, and spitting. Your cat may not hurt the coyote in any way but could drive it away.

One of the best ways to scare coyotes off the property and keep them off is by making any sudden, loud noises, which is possible for a cat to do as well. 

Do Coyotes Kill Cats Quickly

Coyotes kill cats quickly and brutally.

If you have never seen a cat get killed by a coyote, you should consider yourself lucky. This is not something that you want to see.

Not only is the entire process tough to witness, but it’s also entirely preventable if you take the proper safety precautions discussed in this article. Simple things such as keeping your cat indoors, monitoring the time they spend outdoors, and being alert can go a long way in protecting your cat.

Of course, you would not want to see the main reason that the cat is probably one that you own, and no cat owner would want to witness that.

In addition, coyotes are brutal killers that will rip your cat apart. 

There is only one positive that comes from this type of killing: that it is quick. The cat caught by the coyote will not have to suffer long. 

How Far Away Can A Coyote Smell A Cat

Coyotes are in the canine family, which means they have a highly keen sense of smell. 

The average dog has a strong sense of smell, but since coyotes depend on their sense of smell to survive, theirs is even stronger than a domestic dog’s sense of smell. 

It is hard to say the exact distance from which a coyote can smell a cat. 

A coyote’s sense of smell is based on a massive amount of factors, such as:

• The age of the coyote
• The season and temperature outside
• How many other animals are overwhelming the coyote’s sense of smell
• How hard and which way the wind is blowing

A coyote’s sense of smell can vary from coyote to coyote. 

When it comes to these dangerous animals, it is better to be safe than sorry. If you have coyotes in your area, it is safer to assume that coyotes can smell your cat. This means that you should act proactively instead of reactively. 

How Do Coyotes Catch Cats

Coyotes are surprisingly smart hunters that use different hunting techniques to catch the prey they are hunting.

Most animals have one kind of technique to catch prey, but the coyote is somewhat unique in that it can change its skills to catch different prey.

Coyotes will begin by stalking their prey to find the best way to catch it. Coyotes will even shadow their prey for a certain length of time, which means that coyotes are patient. 

Coyotes attack in two main ways: by pouncing or running the prey into another pack member.

Pouncing is easy to understand. Once the coyote sees an open, it will jump onto its prey to kill it quickly.

A more brutal way to kill is by chasing its prey into its pack, where another coyote will attack. This is an important note because it shows that there is undoubtedly more to follow if one coyote is nearby. 

Key Factors To Consider

We’ve spent this article talking about coyotes and cats, but let’s talk about coyotes more. If you are not from an area with a coyote population, then you may have never seen a coyote and may not know much about them. 

As I already mentioned, the coyote is in the canine family, and the wolf is a close relative. It is native to North America, but you will find coyotes in Mexico and as far south as Central America and as far north as Canada. 

Coyotes are a relatively small animal with both males and females averaging from about 15 to 44 pounds, which is the same size as a mid-sized domestic dog. They are about 4 feet long and about 16 inches tall, so the coyote is not large overall.

We are concerned that coyotes will eat our pets, specifically our cats, but their diets consist mainly of:

• Deer
• Rabbits
• Rodents
• Birds
• Reptiles
• Fish

Coyotes have a distinctive, chilling cry that sounds like a yap or a howl. Depending on where they are located, they may echo eerily.

You will not see many coyotes during the day because they are largely nocturnal. They can hunt their prey visually, even at night, or by smell, making them deadly at all hours.

Coyotes also hunt and travel in large packs, which is good in some ways. A larger pack of coyotes will go after the larger game to feed more coyotes, so they are less likely to attack smaller animals, like cats.

If coyotes cannot find enough prey to feed themselves, they will turn to eat berries and fruit rather than animals and meat.

Many people fear coyotes, and perhaps rightfully so. Coyotes, however, are abundant in the locations they are found, so it is not unheard of that a coyote may be nearby at all times.