Allyson Seconds was driving through midtown Sacramento on Thursday morning when she saw flashes of fur weaving between cars in traffic.
“I pulled over thinking I’d seen two loose dogs crossing the street and went into rescue mode,” the Sacramento woman recalled. “When I saw they were coyotes I grabbed my phone and took just these four shots of them running and jumping up at a tree.”
Seconds didn’t didn’t understand why the coyotes were so worked up until she reviewed the shots.
“I didn’t realize at first that it was a house cat they were after until I looked at the pictures,” she wrote. “That’s one lucky cat!”
The swift tabby managed to stay a stride ahead of his canid pursuers before going vertical and beating a quick retreat up a tree.
This photo shows the telltale signs of a terrified cat: Kitty’s tail is raised, rigid and three times its normal size while its ears are pinned back against its head.
The next two photos show the end of the chase: In the first we can see just a flash of fur as the cat scurries up the tree, and in the second shot the coyotes look miffed at being outplayed by a domestic cat.
As for Seconds, she understands what so many people and local media reports get wrong. There aren’t “more” coyotes, as if they’ve suddenly decided to start becoming prolific breeders. The reason those of us in urban and suburban neighborhoods see them more often is because we encroach on their habitats with every development, cul-de-sac and ugly strip mall we build.
It’s a story that is sadly repeated across the globe as animals as varied — and endangered — as mountain lions, tigers and orangutans find fewer contiguous plains, jungles and forests to hunt and forage within.
“This is not even close to a coyote damning post,” Seconds wrote on Facebook. “Housing developments and more homeless living at the river are certainly driving them inland from their more suitable terrain but guess what? The coyotes are adapting to city life and we are seeing more and more of them in all corners of our town. They aren’t going anywhere.”
She signed off by making a suggestion we’ve advocated many times on this blog.
“And as for those worried about their cats for reasons illustrated in my photos? Time to start keeping kitty inside.”
Pain In The Bud 
All eight of mine stay in. We are in a rural area, where not only are there coyotes, but also foxes, raccoons, possums and cougars. Yes, cougars eat house cats. There are also plenty of trappers out here, some will illegally trap on your property. Yes, time for tabby to stay inside!
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A wise choice. There are too many threats out there. A few years ago a woman living literally down the street from me was walking her dog on a summer night when a coyote bolted out of a nearby wooded area, snatched her dog in its jaws and disappeared. It wasn’t even phased by her. So even if traffic wasn’t a concern (and in my area it definitely is), I would never be able to forgive myself if Buddy was killed by a coyote.
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Wow she took those with her phone? I’d like to know what kind of phone she has. I can’t even get a photo of Holly licking her paw without it coming out blurry! Glad the kitty escaped!
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Haha I was wondering the same thing. The new iPhones have dramatically improved cameras, especially for low light settings, so maybe she’s using one of those. I’m glad the cat got away too. If people still let their cats run around outside in that area after seeing that, they’re crazy.
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My Holly wants to go out SO bad. She meows at the doors and windows. But we’re not letting her out. Too much danger.
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Was she an outside cat previously? Buddy was born to an indoor mom and has lived his whole life indoors. When he was a kitten he jumped off my balcony, probably chasing a butterfly or trying to explore. I don’t know how long he was outside by the time I realized he was missing, searched everywhere and realized he wasn’t inside, but he was absolutely terrified by the time I found him in the parking lot of my building. That cured him of his desire to go running around outside by himself.
Have you tried taking Holly out on a harness? It takes some training, but it’s a safe way to explore. There’s a YouTube channel by a guy who calls himself CatManToo that has some great training tutorials. I used them for the harness training as well as simple commands like stop, sit and high-five.
Actually it’s probably a good time to do a post on CATMANTOO, who is a dog trainer in his day job but became online famous for his cat videos.
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I’m so happy that baby got away from the coyotes. But I feel sorry for them too. We’ve got to stop thinking only of what’s good for us and start looking at all the other things we affect when we want to move into new places.
I’m so sick and tired of hearing the same old shit, “Oh, there’s NO impact on the environment if we do this.” Yeah, right! HERE’S the damn impact you have on the environment A-holes!! It’s not the coyotes, foxes, raccoons, or other animals that intrude into our areas, WE INTRUDED into theirs! They have as much right to be there as we do.
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Well said, Carmen. We don’t even stop to consider our impact on animals.
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