Loss of cat to coyotes

[Etc]

Loss my son's best friend to a coyote.  She was a beautiful 3 1/2 year old cat.  She adored my 11 year old as he did her.  Came home from work and opened the kitchen window,  did not know my wife closed it because the screen was loose.  She must have jumped out of it because my neighbors heard her crying around 3 a.m.  When my neighbor lookedout she saw 3 coyote attacking her.  When she scared them off ,  the cat also ran off.  I found a lot of blood and fur,  but never found her. I have lost pets before,  but this has left me devastated.  I can't help blaming myself and imagining how frightened she must have been.

[KayC]

I've been through that with a cougar, my cat Chappy over ten years ago.  Then two years ago I lost my Miss Mocha probably to same thing as she disappeared, she never would have run off, she was happy, in good health, I'd had her 10 1/2 years, never found her.  It's devastating and unique from other losses as we don't have a body to bury and we're haunted by what they went through at the end.  My heart goes out to you and your son.

[Etc]

Thank you.  

[AJWCat]

I am so sorry for your loss.  Many people here I have seen lost cats because they are so good at sneaking out. I know you are devastated. I wish there was something I could say to ease your pain, I really do. As for the guilt, it was a terrible thing, but not your intent so please forgive yourself. You do not need the guilt and the loss too. The loss is pain enough.  

[Ambernic]

I am so sorry for your loss. I just lost a cat very suddenly, she was hit by a train and I am really struggling to cope. I feel horrible most of the day but suddenly the reality hits me hard and its like I am hearing the news all over again. I hope we can find some peace and take solice in the fact our pain only shows how truly loved they were ❤️

[Etc]

On 5/30/2018 at 11:29 AM, Etc said:

Thank you.  

 

On 5/30/2018 at 8:13 PM, Ambernic said:

I am so sorry for your loss. I just lost a cat very suddenly, she was hit by a train and I am really struggling to cope. I feel horrible most of the day but suddenly the reality hits me hard and its like I am hearing the news all over again. I hope we can find some peace and take solice in the fact our pain only shows how truly loved they were ❤️

Thank you.

[ShirleyKerr]

My heart goes out to you Ed, snd others here who have lost a pet to a coyote. We lost our beloved cat Camilo two days ago to a coyote. I am absolutely heartsick abd devastated.  It is a terrible thing to lose a pet suddenly, tragically and violently.  My heart goes out to everyone. I find this site very helpful to know I’m not alone in my sorrow.

[AJWCat]

Oh no, another awful loss.  I am sorry to read this about sweet Camilo @ShirleyKerr it is so heartbreaking. And you are right, you are certainly not alone. Losing your pet is very painful and there are not many outlets for getting out the grief. I really needed to process it, to talk it out, and write it out. 

[KayC]

14 hours ago, ShirleyKerr said:

My heart goes out to you Ed, snd others here who have lost a pet to a coyote. We lost our beloved cat Camilo two days ago to a coyote. I am absolutely heartsick abd devastated.  It is a terrible thing to lose a pet suddenly, tragically and violently.  My heart goes out to everyone. I find this site very helpful to know I’m not alone in my sorrow.

I am sorry for your loss as well.  It's just so hard to make our way through this very painful loss, one day at a time.

[Etc]

Thank everyone who responded to my post.  It helped me process the grief I am going through.

[AJWCat]

It is still early, totally understandable what you are going through. We all grieve differently but for me, it took many weeks to get back to anything that felt okay. How is your son doing? I don't have kids, my cat was like my kid, but I can imagine it's adds an extra layer of difficulty trying to console and be strong. 

[Etc]

He's doing good.  Talks about her a lot and has made a little memorial in his room.  We adopted a new kitten that he has named Gumdrop to help him (and me) cope.

[KayC]

I hope Gumdrop can fill some of that void left by her.  It takes time for even that transition, I know.

[Etc]

Thanks again KayC.

[AJWCat]

@Etc if you read the latest post from @MyJulius it is to you. Good luck with the new kitty. So many need homes so that is nice of you. 

[MyJulius]

3 hours ago, AJWCat said:

@Etc if you read the latest post from @MyJulius it is to you. Good luck with the new kitty. So many need homes so that is nice of you. 

AJWCat - thank you, I tried to find a way to tag people in comments but I can't seem to figure out how to do it, so I just 'quote' in the hopes that they will see it. About to reply to your last comments now.

[KayC]

You type @ followed by the start of their name and when it appears, click on it, then type your comment.

[AJWCat]

@Etc how is the new kitty? How are you doing with your grief? I know from experience it does not go away with a new little creature although it is nice to have them so I hope you good. 

[Etc]

Going good.  Not replacing Blue baby,  just giving my family a place to direct all the love we still have for a cat.  She has already set her self at the top of the pecking order.  Rules over our two little

Foo foo dogs and our 120 pound great dane.  Already sleeping with my son.

Thank you.

[KayC]

8 hours ago, Etc said:

Not replacing Blue baby,  just giving my family a place to direct all the love we still have for a cat.

In the beginning this is all we can expect.  But then, little by little, it grows into a whole other relationship and we find ourselves in love again.  It doesn't mean we no longer miss our old cat or stop grieving over them, not at all...it just means we've added another dimension into our life and it does help.  Life is full of loss, but we as humans have more capacity to love than we begin to realize and sometimes that love can be healing for even our grieving hearts.  My grief is with me always, I've gotten rather used to it as part of my life, but having other things to fill my life help make it more doable.

[AJWCat]

So well said KayC. I realized that too. Love can heal and our emotions are not all our nothing. It's love and it's grief and they can exist together at the same time. 

[Etc]

18 hours ago, AJWCat said:

@Etc how is the new kitty? How are you doing with your grief? I know from experience it does not go away with a new little creature although it is nice to have them so I hope you good. 

 

18 hours ago, AJWCat said:

@Etc how is the new kitty? How are you doing with your grief? I know from experience it does not go away with a new little creature although it is nice to have them so I hope you good. 

@AJWCat

[Etc]

She is a sweetheart.  Already sleeping with my son I night.  

[KayC]

20 hours ago, AJWCat said:

It's love and it's grief and they can exist together at the same time.

For sure!  I've learned a myriad of emotions can exist at the same time, and we learn to co-exist with our grief, as it's here to stay.  Fortunately, grief is not stagnant, but ever evolving.

20 hours ago, Etc said:

She is a sweetheart.  Already sleeping with my son I night.  

So glad to hear it!

[Etc]

Thanks.  

[AJWCat]

That is good. I read elsewhere you felt you let your cat down. She did her kitty thing getting out and a tragic thing happened. I am sure she didn't feel let down, it was just bad timing and the course of nature. 

[AnneHunter]

On 5/30/2018 at 5:13 PM, Ambernic said:

I am so sorry for your loss. I just lost a cat very suddenly, she was hit by a train and I am really struggling to cope. I feel horrible most of the day but suddenly the reality hits me hard and its like I am hearing the news all over again. I hope we can find some peace and take solice in the fact our pain only shows how truly loved they were ❤️

I am so comforted to know I am not alone. I find it very hard to cope with his loss especially at the house as he was such a chatty boy. Sometimes I feel I am in a. Nightmare that I will be awoken from. I feel afraid to get another cat for fear of the coyote again. Even if the cat is indoors they can sneak out. We must have a plan for what to do ,about coyotes before small children are killed. I am reading a book about Pets in Heaven. It’s been helpful. It’s called “Pawprints From Heaven.”,I believe I will see Camillo again but the terrible loss is overwhelming the promise of a grand reunion to come. 

[KayC]

Anne,

I'm sorry for your loss as well.  Here it's cougars, the coyotes stay back from residential areas although I have a story of passing through a band of coyotes one night when our truck broke down on a mountain and my son and I had to walk home several miles, taking turns carrying our dog, Lucky (40 lbs) while the other hurled rocks at the coyotes who were following us.  It was the eeriest moment of my life watching them dancing and singing, it was ritualistic, that was before a couple of them broke away from the rest and followed us until we reached residential area.  We got home at 1:30 am, tired, hungry, but never have I forgotten the coyotes.  

Cougars are another thing, no one stands a chance with them, there are no rocks you could throw to fend them off, they are huge and menacing, extremely aggressive, they take deer down and believe me, deer fight vehemently, a man wouldn't stand a chance with one!  

I have lost a couple of cats to cougars, I'd rather take on a bear any day, far less aggressive.  I am so sorry to hear that you also have gone through such loss.  I never let my cat out at night, I'm very protective of her, especially living in the mountains on the edge of a forest.

Yes that is a good book, I believe with all my heart we'll be together again!

[Kam]

Hello all, I could really use some help.   I adopted 2 cats in Oct 2017 from the Az Humane Society's Working Cat Program.  These cats are un-adoptable to the general public and are adopted out to ranches, warehouses, etc.  for a sort of "green pest control".  Well we were having a rodent problem at our small ranch so we adopted two kitties.  We are animal lovers and it didn't take long before we were in love with these girls.   For the first two months we were instructed to keep them locked up since they were feral; so they would know upon release where there home was.    During those two months I read them nursery ryhmes, sang to them and of course talked to them during every feeding time so they would get used to me.   about 4 months later; after release they comfortably found their place with our other animals and Emma decided to trust me.  After that she followed me everywhere... to feed the horses, chickens, where ever I went, there was sweet Emma.   Shy was her sister and although she was always lurking in the shadows... she has not warmed up to touch as of today.   This morning around 4am.... we let our dogs outside to go potty and they frantically rushed to the fence line and became both agitated and aggressive... when we turned the light on a coyote had dropped Emma and ran on the other side of the fence.   When we got to her it was already two late.    I am just devastated.  I knew it was a risk and we always said that if it were not for this program Emma and Shy would have been euthanized,  but I find no comfort in that.  Coyotes have always been a threat where we live.   The girls never strayed too far and stayed close to the barn so we were lulled into thinking they were safe.   This just happened today but I am just sick and don't even know what to feel.   

[KayC]

I am so sorry, I know there is little anyone can say to ease your pain.  Do you have motion detector lights that come on?  That will often help scare off wild animals.  Beyond that the only thing I can think of to keep your pets safe is a fence too high to jump with barbed wire at the top to deter wild animals trying to climb over.  It needn't be your whole yard, just enough to give your animals some room to roam is enough.

Your kitty is beautiful, I'm so sorry for your loss.  I had a ferral cat once I called Peek-a-Boo because she'd peek around the corner at me, she was orange too.  We had to put her down because of a gangrenous eye infection.  If she'd died of natural causes it would have been way more suffering for her, but I had her for over a year.  She came in the house one time, NOT a good idea!  Ferral cats are wild and when inside are terrified and frantic, feeling trapped and unsafe.  Your cat doesn't look completely ferral, but perhaps she domesticated a bit since she was still young.  

I know this is hard, but you gave her a good family and cared about her, I hope you can feel good about that, it's more than she would have known otherwise.