From the Suffolk Times:
Ten housecats have gone missing on Fishers Island in the past week, and residents believe coyotes are to blame.
So says island resident Charles Kadushin, whose cat disappeared on Memorial Day and has not been seen since.
Mr. Kadushin said coyotes have been seen all over the island over the past two years and are becoming more prevalent all the time, and some of his neighbors said they can be heard howling along with the fire department’s noon whistle.
“They’re lots of places, in the fort area, they’ve been seen climbing over garden fences,” he said after a special Southold Town Board meeting on Fishers Island Wednesday. “I suppose they’re kind of cute, but they can be dangerous. They attack cats and dogs.”
Mr. Kadushin said that he believes the coyotes are swimming to the island from Connecticut, which has a growing coyote problem of its own.
“They’re known to be very good swimmers,” he said.
Mr. Kadushin said that he’d been keeping an eye out for his cat, but after realizing that other people’s cats have also gone missing “now I know for sure it will never be seen again.”
“All we can do is keep our animals inside,” he said.
Good advice, Mr. Kadushin. Good advice.
Fishers Island is off the coast of Connecticut on the far eastern end of Long Island Sound. It is not far from the border with Connecticut and Rhode Island, but it is part of New York State. It is administered from Southold, New York, which on Long Island.
The coyotes are apparently swimming to this island from Connecticut, and I seriously doubt that they are finding much natural prey there.
However, like most urban and suburban coyotes, these have improvised their diet to include feral cats and owned cats that happen to be outside.
I bet the birds on Fishers Island are pleased with this development. It has been established that coyotes are a major boon to songbird numbers simply because they prey upon cats. They don’t have to eat every single cat in region either. They merely have to scare them so much that they avoid certain areas– which the birds then use as their nesting sites.
What the dilemma a cat vs songbirds, which would Mr Kadushin choose?
Why some people can’t keep things with the balance of nature amazes me.
As long as Coyotes hunt feral cats, I m fine with it. Feral cats killed our songbirds and we had no business of putting them in our wilderness in the first place. Pet cats should always be kept inside. I see a pet cat friendly with two raccoons in my neck of the wood and I am a bit skeptical of this unusual trio. I am not sure what the cat is dragging in in her owners’ home.
Coyotes are only one of many dangers for domesticated animals left to roam alone outdoors. I am amazed that pet owners who claim to love their animals would let their cats and dogs outside like they do. Cats especially can be raised to remain indoors and dogs obviously can be walked by their owners. Now residents can blame coyotes on Fishers Island and elsewhere instead of themselves. Great. Now it’s the coyotes fault.