WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – Officials state coyotes have been documented in every county in Florida.
For a pet owner in Winter Garden, she fears her missing cat may have been attacked by a coyote, and now, she is warning her community.
Dinah Carboneau said this past week she has been searching for her cat “Cali” that went missing in her neighborhood after it slipped out at night.
“We call them indoor and outdoor cats. We have a front cat door and a back cat door in a fenced area, but they are free to roam,” she said.
However, when the cat did not return, she started to get worried, and she says her concern only grew when a neighbor called and told her it was attacked by a coyote.
“It was a nightmare that apparently came true,” Carboneau went on to say. “It was a shock to hear, and then, when she went on to describe probably how Cali’s life ended, I just became more and more horrified to think of how she was attacked and maybe torn apart.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission states that due to natural range expansion, coyotes have been documented in every county across the state and are well-adapted to urban and suburban environments. Coyotes also eat a wide variety of food, even pet food if they have access. Officials suggest feeding pets indoors and picking up trash outdoors.
If pets are kept in a fenced area, the fence should be high enough that coyotes can’t jump and crawl under it.
Carboneau says she will not let her cats out at night and made beware of coyotes, posting signs around the neighborhood to help other pet owners.
“I certainly don’t want it to happen to anyone else’s pet or even a small child to be approached or attacked by a coyote. That would be a terrible thing,” said Carboneau.
FWC also suggests if you are outside with your pets and a coyote approaches, to encourage them to move away, you should make loud noise, wave your arms, or use a strong hose if you have a spray in their direction.