Will a raccoon kill a cat?

[Kathy O'Neill]

I have had 2 young (about 1-1/2 years old) 15+ lb. cats disappear right off my front lawn in the past 8 weeks while sunning themselves at about 11 AM. I brought them inside at night and both were neutered males. We are wondering what happened to them. My first thought was 2-legged cat thieves, but I am afraid something more sinister is around. We live on a small peninsula in a river in coastal NC and there is a lot of farmland nearby, yet several neighbors have had their cats outside for several years and have not lost any (and they are older cats too). Yes, there are bird predators living in the area, mostly turkey vultures and hawks, but with all the farmland, there are lots of rodents for easy prey right down the road. Both cats were no more than 40 feet from the house and I would look out to check on them from time to time. It is like they vanished into thin air. I also have several large dogs in fenced-in ares less than 20 feet from where the cats disappeared. I thought the proximity of the dogs would keep raccoons and coyotes away. Any ideas? Also, I have a hen who is loose on the front lawn during the day as well, and she is still here.

 

[bichkitten]

While I've had raccoons kill kittens, never an adult cat. I did have one maul an adult cat once. Since it went for my cat's face, the damage look horrible, but other than the danger of infection, it wasn't life threatening. I'm not saying they can't kill an adult cat, a cat is definitely over matched by a raccoon. But most of the time they don't have reason to. While they can take an adult cat, there are less risky prey they can go after. And I find most times they and my cats tolerate each other. They live cat food.

Most of the cats I've lost out here have been due to coyote predation. One year I lost 4 cats. But most years I have better luck. Since I have a number of dogs, the coyotes are wary of coming on the property. But cats sometimes roam. My current crop of cats stay pretty close most times, so I'm hoping for continuing good luck.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Yes, raccoons will kill cats if they have to, but coyotes love to kill them, and will use their considerable smarts to do so. In your shoes, I would not assume your dogs are keeping the coyotes away.