Coyote trapping

[Peaches Bee]

My cat has been missing for over a week now, I live in a suburban area with some woods around. I've been told there is at least one coyote in my area and because I can't find a carcass of my cat I think a coyote got it. I have no experience hunting or trapping, but I want the animal responsible for my cats untimely death. Any tips or advice you can give for someone 100% new to this?

 

[8MerryHens]

Sorry to hear about your cat, I pray perhaps s/he is off on an adventure and will return. Regarding your trapping or hunting question, the very first thing you need to do is check out all laws for the area you live in. A good place to start is with your state's DNR (Dept. of Natural Resources). They may have a different name in your state but if you search the internet for hunting/trapping regulations for your state you should find the regulating agency. You may also have local regulations. People who don't hunt or trap are often not familiar with the regs and are surprised about the complexity of the rules.

Living in a suburban area, you need to be very careful about trapping/shooting, even if it is legal. Other animals/pets can easily be caught in leg hold traps and get injured. You must also be willing to check them twice a day and humanely dispatch (kill) the coyote if you catch it (it is not going to be in a very good mood). Many trappers use a bonk stick or a .22 pistol to quickly kill the animal. Coyotes are very wary critters and smart so you must know how to set traps effectively to have any chance of trapping one. If hunting them you usually need a firearm that allows for a long distance shot (again they are very wary and getting close to them is a challenge). Wounded animal sounds from a call are used to try and lure them into range. Since you live in a suburban area using a firearm may not be an option.

Your best bet may be to contact a local Fish and Game club and get the name of the lead Hunter Safety Instructor. They would know the laws and be able to give you advice or help you find an hunter or trapper who would help you with your setups (or take care of the problem for you). Contacting a DNR officer would also be a good option. Being that you are in a suburban area, a bowhunter may be the safest choice for eliminating a coyote. The laws and safety should guide your decisions.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

First off let me sincerely console you for your loss. Our pets are important members of our families...and it's good that you care deeply about your pets.

If the predator were coming onto your property and killing livestock and threatening pets and people...then you have a beef. But putting out traps and making sets in suburbia, amongst your neighbor's and their pets...bad idea.

Coyotes are not hard to trap using snares and foothold traps. I've literally taken 100's of canines, fox and coyotes both. But under your conditions, with no experience at trapping...the odds of you catching catching a coyote are low. The odds are quite high that you'll probably upset your neighbor's.

More importantly, if there are any anti-trappers around you, either you or your traps will just wind up on the evening news and make people like me look bad.

There are lots of things that will kill a cat. Some of them have 4 legs, some of them have 2 legs and some have wings. Unless you actually saw what happened...it's all theory and you have no real idea what happened to your pet.

Contact animal control and file a report.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

A Fisher Cat took our cat last year. It's not fun but a risk taken when you have an animal that roams outside. Cats are one of those animals that if prone to outdoor time have a good chance of dying young. In our case I know the culprit. Had a Fisher move into the "barn" as it does once each year to eradicate the squirrel and few groundhogs. Was growling at us when we walked by and such and even though they are protected in my state was close to taking it out as my three year old at the time is fearless. The nasty hiss growl scared him enough he wasn't going near the barn so let the Fisher be as he'd move on in a week per usual.

The cat wanted out and that day and had unhealthy interest in the barn area. Would not come when called and being a semi trained stray figured he'd know better than to mess with a Fisher. Not like we could catch it if it didn't come when called anyway. Didn't see the cat again until ground hogs moved in and cleaned out the den which revealed parts of a feline skeleton. It happens.

What's sad about this mostly is the odd stance Fish and Game has. The Fisher here is highly protected even though it's overrun the state. Game wardens are obtaining odd flavored education now a days and scold people who shoot coyote here which also are overrunning the state. Very few people shoot predators until there is a personal problem with them. The art of trapping is steadily diminishing. Attitudes toward it discolored. The fact of the matter is when there is an overabundance of top predators around something's got to give. Prey species which are our favored hunting game are diminished, livestock and pets are threatened and still there is an overpowering uneducated attitude that disproportion of predator to game is a sign of healthy wildlife.

 

[lcertuche]

I'm so sorry about your fur-baby kitty. I had never heard of fisher cats before so I googled them. I am so glad they are not down South. We have too many predators as it is now. Something just pulled one of my little chicks through the pen and took its head. Probably a opossum, raccoon or skunk but we have many more. I'm glad they didn't tear in the cage and get them all. Five 6-week old pullets and one 14-week pullet (recovering from a leg injury). I have since moved then back into the main coup at night. I worry about coyotes getting my dog so we keep her in at night. We also have wild boars running wild, a huge bobcat, foxes and I imagine everything but a fisher cat. We had a couple of stray cats show up but they didn't last more than a couple of days. We found them gutted by the pond. They were both sweet.