my cat was killed by a coyote (caution: gory)

[ElliesMomma]

we live on 2 acres. i've always let her roam. she was hunting a lot. out at night. was missing for a few days before i realized it. i found two severed white paws in the way back between the pine trees. then a stripped-of-meat and desintegrating body on the back lawn. today i mowed and found her head. her eyes were wide open and her ears were way back. her head was ripped off at the scull. she was 11 and a half years old. i took in her mom from some friends when she was already pregnant, and watched all 7 kittens be born in my closet. wally was the last born and was just such a passive, loving kitten and cat. she was a great cat. but really came alive out in the yard. yes, i was disgusted by her killing birds this spring. and i know her hunting was her downfall as it took her focus off of watching out for herself.

if you've read all this, i thank you. it just helps to get it all out, as i had to pick up her head and bury it with the rest of her remains which DH helped me with earlier this week. i did the head myself today while DD was sleeping because the last thing i want LO to see is "bops" severed head. just the wide eyes and ears way back really gives me the chills. she was running for her life and didn't make it.

[Rach]

I am so sorry she died and that you had to see her that way.
((hugs))

[E.V. Lowi]

So sorry mama.

[wendinbill]

Oh no, I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what you must have felt finding that. (((hugs)))

[ceilydhmama]

That sounds so awful. I'm sorry.

[Dabble]

I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty. It would be terrible to know that the end was scary, and to see her body in such condition. Be sure to allow yourself time to grieve not only the loss of her, but the loss of the peaceful death she deserved.

PM me if you would like a link for a woman who makes beautiful and reasonably priced pet memorial garden stones out of river rock. I find that having a physical memorial to look at really helps me with the grieving process. Maybe you could place one in her favorite spot in the yard.

Hugs.

[Night_Nurse]

I had a very similar situation. I'm so very sorry and my heart breaks for you. Please check your pm's.

I wish I could say that I think it gets better with time. But as someone who lost a pet in a very tragic and brutal way, I can't say that it really does.

I hope you can be comforted by your happy memories of the years you shared with her. I hope this poem will bring you comfort also.

http://rainbowsbridge.com/Poem.htm

[willibug]

Oh, I am so sorry!

We just moved to our area 6 months ago, and we have cats. DH has come home from work with coworkers stories about cats and coyotes. I thought they were exaggerated, but it sounds like they may not have been.

I feel awful for you.

[Yuba_River]

I'm so very sorry. I know how hard it is to lose a dear pet.

[rachelle-a-tron]

(((ElliesMomma)))
(((Bops)))

Im so so sorry.

Love to you.

[Katana]

Oh mama, I'm so sorry.

[perl]

Oh what a terrible thing to go through, both for sweet bops and for you!

I am always finding parts of remains of wild animals while out hiking, and it makes me feel so sad. I cannot fathom seeing one of our pets this way - that would be devastating.

You are so brave to have searched for her and buried her remains. I'm so sorry.

[William's Mom]

[Luvmyboyz]

[phatchristy]

I am so so very sorry. My hugs go out to you . That has to be so difficult, I would be so horrified to see one of my cats go through something like that.

[firedancr41]

i am so sorry for your loss. i would be devastated

[ElliesMomma]

it happened again

I am horrified. We've been trying to get the two remaining cats in every night. Pesty always comes, but Momma Kitty was harder to get in. Last night, I tried, I held the door open for her, but she stood there, then turned around to go back out. She was never one who let you catch her; she has been an indoor/outdoor cat for 12 years. I figured I would try again after I got DD to bed, and I did call again last night, but it may have already been too late. When DH said Momma Kitty didn't come for breakfast I panicked and started walking the yard calling for her. I found her head and three severed paws in the exact same spot that Wally died. Again, I feel so horrible and guilty that I didn't get her in last night, not that I would have caught her but that I didn't try to physically grab her in. The coyote now has had two meals of my cats in the yard. Pesty is the last cat left. She is 18 years old and sticks close to home. But I really really don't want her to be killed like this too. We will have to make sure she is in anytime we are not out, or if leaving for a few hours to go to the store or the pool or whatever. And I worry about our old golden retriever being out, and 2 year old DD if we're more than a few feet away. The neighbor told DH that he has a .22 and that it's legal to shoot here. I'm not crazy about killing the coyote, but I'm scared. And shocked that this is happening now. After living on a farm with a bunch of cats since 1992, and then here on two acres for the last couple years, and now this all of a sudden. i am sick over this. Pesty wanted to go out just now, and i'm like absolutely no way jose. i am sure sure that coyote will be back.

[Rach]

I am so sorry again. That is just awful.

[E.V. Lowi]

{HUG} I'm so sorry. Coyotes are a big problem for pets, here too. The have been seen walking down the middle of the street in broad daylight!

Coyotes are silent stalkers. Your cats never knew what hit them. They weren't chased down, if that is any consolation.

[Night_Nurse]

I'm so sorry for you. I was just thinking about you the other day, wondering how you were doing after losing the first kitty. And now this. My heart breaks for you.
Is their an animal control office you can contact? If not, can you build an enclosure, like a screened in porch maybe? That way, you could let the cat go out but she'd be somewhat protected by the enclosure. It seems to help with our pet anyway. They get to see and smell everything outside, so they think they are out, but they can't escape the screened-in porch.