[jebartle]

Don't bet with a coyote on golf course. They use the women's tees.[/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by sandybill2

I was dog sitting for a neighbor and I am a "hoot owl"--took the dog out around 2:00 am----he "bristled up" looking down the street----(we live in Belvedere Village)---saw what looked like a "large dog or werewolf" (had just done the Twilight marathon at local theater with my granddaughter) loping down the street---"it" saw us and went between houses in our neighborhood!!! Can't tell you for sure what "it" was--but am hoping it was a coyote and not the "other!"

My neighbor saw a coyote off of Morven Park Way near the ponds on Belmont Golf Course.

Coyotes are about the size of lean smaller German shephards. At least the ones I have seen. Wolves are another matter but I thought Florida did not have any wolves except for some rather remote wildlife preserves which may have a small number of Red Wolves.

[JenAjd]

As another writer here said...as their habitat is infringed upon they will acclimate to human habitation. We have relatives in the Twin Cities (MN) and they hear cayotes quite alot in the metro area.

I remember on the news last year that black bear were spotted in subdivisions near Orlando. Bear are moving from the northwoods (in the midwest) to places where they ordinarily aren't spotted. I've seen deer in town (and there isn't a forest anywhere close) quite a bit up north...I'm not talking about a back-woods location neither.

[entemedor]

Poor coyotes, they just can't catch a break. People shoot them, they used to poison them, they get run over by cars & trucks, they even get eaten by wolves when wolves are around...it's a tough life.

Worse, they get blamed for everything since the flood and some blame them for that too.

Now coyotes will indeed eat cats but only now and then. (Small comfort to the owner of an eaten cat, I'll grant you.) Mostly, though, they eat small critters that don't have claws and fangs; e.g., mice, rats, voles, snakes, (you get the picture). Heck, they even eat watermelon, grapes, and whatever fruit they can get to.

I'll tell you what not only eats cats but whose chosen surburban prey are cats....it's the great horned owl. People who study owl the casts of great horned owls in the suburbs find the casts full of the bones of cats, and, for that matter, skunks.

I, for one, think that coyotes are kind of neat dudes and I enjoy catching a glimpse of them now and then and, at night, hearing them yipping off in the distance.

[Tbugs]

The best idea is to keep your cat indoors all the time. Some people actually declaw the cat and then let it outdoors. It is totally defensless at that point. An indoor cat will be flea-free, happy, and live a long life. An indoor-outdoor cat will get fleas, probably get into fights with other animals, maybe boost the cat population by not being spayed or neutered, and have the good possibility of being hit by a car - all leading to a short life.

Yes, coyotes are around here; owls eat cats; some of the hawks will take a small cat - so keep your cat indoors.

There are also a few crazies who will poison cats or shoot them, too.