It's long been known that coyotes attack pets, but there's also a sense that cats can scamper up a tree if they sense danger, says Harris. That vastly understates the danger, she says. “A coyote can jump a six-foot fence and take a small dog or cat and be back in a flash – do it right in front of you.”

Do coyotes eat cats or just kill them?

Studies vary dramatically in their findings, with some indicating that an alarmingly high 42% of an urban coyote's diet is feline, while other studies suggest that the figure is much lower, just 1% or 2%. Whatever the figures, coyotes are opportunistic animals and will hunt and eat cats when they live in proximity.

Do coyotes always kill cats?

Coyotes certainly could kill cats if they wanted to. A predator the size of a large dog, which is basically exactly what a coyote is, can easily overpower a cat. Bad coyote-cat encounters don't occur that often, but they do happen.