A woman's cat was killed Sunday morning and she caught it all on tape!
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
United States
July 29, 2008 11:27am CST
A problem with vandals in her neighborhood prompted Carol Dinwiddy to put surveillance cameras around the outside of her house. She hoped to catch the perps in the act. Never did she imagine the cameras would capture a coyote killing her cat, right before her eyes.
On Sunday morning, Carol's cat Cesar was killed by a coyote. Cesar, Carol says, loved sitting on her car. So at 5:30 Sunday morning, it's no surprise surveillance cameras caught Cesar lounging in his favorite place.
The cameras catch him stretching, completely unaware of the danger lurking around him. On the other side of house, the camera catches an image of a coyote on the hunt. Within seconds you see the coyote creeping up on Cesar. Another camera catches Cesar running. He climbs up a tree. The coyote, right behind him, jumps up knocking Cesar out of the branches. In a mere flash, Carols' beloved cat is gone.
Carol says she knew Cesar might be in danger because she spotted a coyote before. "I first started seeing the coyote two months ago," she said.
You can read more details about this story and view the tape by clicking on the following link.
http://www.winknews.com/news/local/25971569.html
After reading the article, I viewed comments written by other people that read the article.
I couldn't believe how mean some of the people were and blamed it entirely upon Carol.
After you read the article, view the tape and read the comments, let me know what you think.
Do you place the blame entirely on Carol?
Should the authorities do more to control the coyote population?
Or do we have to just deal with the fact that animals like coyotes are native to the area and this coyote just did what wild animals do.
Lloyd
10 people like this
21 responses
@Bethany1202 (3431)
• United States
29 Jul 08
It's very sad the cat was killed. I believe pets should stay indoors, especially when you know there are racoons, coyotes, foxes and whatever else running wild in the neighborhood. That's nature and it's a risk one takes if they let their pet outside, especially if they are unsupervised.
I feel sorry for the cat, but that's life. I always watch my dogs when they are outside. You never know what will happen. I would hate for them to escape the yard. They could get hit by a car, dog-napped, or bitten by a rabid animal as just a few of the possibilities.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
29 Jul 08
Many of the people who commented on this story feel the same way you do. They believe pets like cats should stay indoors. They blame cats for killing songbirds and other wildlife.
I don't own a dog or cat, but I would never imagine one being killed by a coyote.
You bring up some excellent points as to why you should keep your pet indoors or keep an eye on it when it's outdoors.
Thanks for your reply.
Lloyd
2 people like this
@jillmalitz (5131)
• United States
29 Jul 08
I have never been one to let my animals stay outside at night. With the fact that we have pushed wild animals into places they never have gone before we all need to learn from what has happened here. If Carol did not know that predators were roaming the area, I guess she is not to blame. But, the more often we see wild animals in suburbia the more aware we need to be. It is sad to see this happen to a pet, but the wild animals are doing what they have to do to survive. It makes it all the more important that we notify animal control people when we see these animals. Wild animals are becoming an increasing problem hunting not only at night but roaming during the day too. I have seen many stories of pets being attacked as well as children. We need to stay aware of what is going on and be proactive to protection of our family as well as our pets. This is one reason I no longer have cats. Several of our neighbors in our subdivision have cats whom stay out all the time. They might think twice about this if one of them were attacked.
2 people like this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
29 Jul 08
Over the last few years I have seen fewer and fewer dogs and cats out at night. When I was growing up it was a common thing.
We are taking up more and more of the wildlife's former habitat. They must feel that they are being pushed into a corner.
Carol did know that predators were roaming the area. Carol says she knew Cesar might be in danger because she spotted a coyote before. "I first started seeing the coyote two months ago," she said
In June, she got an up close look when her surveillance camera caught a coyote killing another cat. She probably thought this would ever happen to her pet.
Lloyd
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
29 Jul 08
Hi I do think that Carol was partly to blame as she should
have taken her cat in when she knew a cat next door had
already been killed by a coyote. also the authorities
'should do more about controlling the coyote population.
People should realize that coyotes are predators and do'
what predators do. we encroached on their living area
and are now reaping the results.
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
29 Jul 08
I know Carol feels very guilty about what happened. She probably just thought it would never happen to her pet.
I really don't know what can be done about the coyote population, other than wiping them out completely.
People are now living where coyotes have lived for thousands of years. Unless they make all the people move, the coyotes probably will have to leave.
It's sad, but its the way of the world.
Lloyd
@Bethany1202 (3431)
• United States
29 Jul 08
If this cat had been poisoned by some disturbed person or hit by a car, would you blame THAT on Carol, at least for the most part?
2 people like this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
29 Jul 08
Don't get me wrong. I couldn't believe how mean some of the people were and blamed it entirely upon Carol.
I felt that the people who commented on this story should have shown more sympathy for Carol's loss.
I hope you didn't get the wrong impression from my post.
Lloyd
1 person likes this
@soooobored (1184)
• United States
29 Jul 08
Carol's not to blame. If Carol was planning to sue the township for improper coyote control, she would have no case, but it seems she is just mourning her loss. In the future, she may or may not choose to let her cats go outdoors, but that will be her decision.
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
29 Jul 08
I don't think she has any intentions of bring a lawsuit. She does seem to be very sad over what happened.
I'm sure if she ever gets another cat, she will handle things differently.
Lloyd
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
29 Jul 08
I don't blame Carol for this incident. I'm not sure how much blame we can place on the coyote either.
Many people have moved into areas where wildlife like coyotes existed.
From what I've read, attacks upon humans by coyotes do not occur very often.
Lloyd
2 people like this
@sarcos (201)
• New Zealand
31 Jul 08
Thank goodness we don't have predators like that where we live. Mind you there are dogs this way that would do that as well.
But it is second nature to a predator like that.
I am sorry that woman lost her cat.
I hope that the coyote went away. He probably had been waiting for a chance to happen like it did. Hopefully no-one else lost there dearly loved pet in the same way.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
31 Jul 08
We don't have coyotes where I live either. It is second nature for a hungry coyote to hunt when it's hungry.
I feel bad for Carol who lost her cat Caesar. I know she feels terrible right now.
Hopefully the authorities will do something to prevent this from happening again.
I don't want them to kill the coyotes though.
Lloyd
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
30 Jul 08
It's probably a little irresponsible of her to let her cat out, knowing that there was a coyote in the area.
It may have been an incident waiting to happen, but I'm sure she never dreamed this would ever happen.
Lloyd
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
30 Jul 08
Then she's not very bright. Coyotes prey on small animals like rabbits, mice, squirels & CATS.... If nothing else she should have done some research & thought about the situation.
Hmmmm.... let my cat outside where there's something that would like to eat it~!
Shure...Why not!
@rowantree (1186)
• United States
31 Jul 08
I feel horrible for her. She watched her pet die, I can't imagine the pain she is going through. She is probably experiencing a lot of guilt as well.
She does say herself that she had noticed coyotes in the area two months beforehand. Therefore, she should have taken better precautions with her pet. Do we all make mistakes? Yes.
I don't believe authorities need to do more to control the coyote population. I do believe that it's a shame that in this day and age, people are still uneducated when it comes to wild animals.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
1 Aug 08
I feel sorry for her also. I know she can't get it out of her head. I'm sure she feels guilty because she could have prevented it from happening.
We all make mistakes and she made one in this case. I think there are some things the authorities can do like relocating the coyotes to their natural habitat.
With people moving more and more into areas where wildlife live, we will have to be more educated when it comes to wild animals.
Lloyd
@munhozmib (3836)
• Sao Paulo, Brazil
1 Aug 08
Hello!
Wow, that must have been pretty sad! I cannot read the news nor watch the video right now, it's almost midnight, but I can say that it must be an impressive video. I'm sad for the owner of the cat. I would never blame her, it is not her fault after all. And I don't think that there should be a Coyote control, unless there are way too much Coyotes in the area.
Respectfully,
Munhozmib.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
1 Aug 08
It is very sad. I think there are some things Carol could have done to prevent this from happening, but I don't blame her for what happened.
I do think that something has to be done to control the coyote population. It would be terrible if a coyote ever attacked a small child.
Thanks for your reply.
Lloyd
@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
29 Jul 08
You can't keep an animal indoors all the time. I have two outdoor dogs and yes there are bears and such here but i am not expecting one to come into my yard and eat one of them. I also have an inside dog and yes she goes out because she would be miserable locked up indoors all the time. No, i don't think it is Carols fault she was just letting a cat be a cat.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
29 Jul 08
You should go to the following link and leave a comment for Carol. She probably could use your support right now.
I'm sure Carol didn't expect her cat to be eaten.
I do see a lot of cats and dogs who stay in the house most of the times, staring out of the window as if they wanted some time to just be a cat or dog.
Thanks for showing some compassion for Carol. Here is the link.
http://www.winknews.com/news/local/25971569.html
Lloyd
1 person likes this
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
29 Jul 08
Here's one of the comments left by Ann.
10:51 PM Ann wrote ...I agree with Susan..Hello...anyone home??? She should be charged for neglegence as she saw her neighbors cat get killed and now she acts so dumb founded. She is who killed her cat! I could never imagine putting my animal in harms way!
Ann seems to have very little compassion for what Carol is probably going through.
Lloyd
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
30 Jul 08
I lived in an area where coyotes are every where. We use to see them run across the roads all the time. It's hard when you live somewhere that has a large coyote population, you want to let your cat out because they love to go outside, but you also take the chance of the coyotes getting your pet. The police shot coyotes often but they reproduce pretty fast.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
31 Jul 08
I've never seen a wild coyote in my life. I guess if you live in a area where there are a lot of coyotes, then it might not be a good idea to leave your cat outside.
Why do the police shoot coyotes? Are they a threat to people? What do they do with them after they shoot them? Do they make coyote coats out of the fur?
I'm curious.
Lloyd
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
1 Aug 08
Thanks for providing some details about the plight of the coyote.
Lloyd
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
31 Jul 08
Coyotes will attack children, usually small children. There was something on the news that a pack of coyotes took a small child out of backyard in California. The police usually shoot the coyotes if they are causing a problem, in an area and they won't leave, getting into trash, killing pets that sort of thing. I'm not sure what they do with the coyote after they shoot them, I know that when I lived in a small town we had a possum in our yard and it looked like it had been hit by a car, the police came out and shot it and he threw the body in a trash bad and said they just put them in the trash which I thought was strange because we as the public are not suppose to dispose of our pets that way when they die. I have actually never heard of anybody doing anything with a coyote fur, I haven't ever touched one so I'm not sure how they would feel. When I have seen a coyote they look mangy and do not appear to be soft such as a house dog.
When we had bad winters in Tahoe one was able to see the coyote during the daylight hours. Mostly people would just here them howling at night.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
27 Sep 08
Carol made a grave error in judgment and both she and her beloved cat paid dearly for it. I don't want to put blame on her. I feel very bad for both of them.
The outside is dangerous. Maybe she had a cat that refused to be an indoor only cat.
The fact is as we encroach on the animals territory we need to learn to live with them. I grew up in an area that was once the edge of civilization. The larger animals had plenty of space and kept away from areas with people.
As time passed they built up the hill, (small mountain really) forcing the wildlife to a long narrow belt of undeveloped area around the American River. The deer came down and so did coyotes and mountain lions. We have to adapt to their presence.
My mom had a friend who was killed by a mountain lion while jogging up near Pilot Hill. Sometime in the 80's. Most likely she bent over to tie her shoe and the animal got her. It's nobody's "fault". The animal just saw her as prey.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
28 Sep 08
I think she would agree with you that she made a bad decision. And I'm sure she thinks about it everyday.
It's hard to place all of the blame on Carol because this type of thing doesn't happen everyday. It's impossible to keep a cat locked in the house all the time.
We have encroached on the natural habitat of wild animals and now we see the effects.
Hopefully we will be able to find a happy medium between humans and animals.
Lloyd
@blackcatbetty (555)
• United States
26 Sep 08
This story is so sad. I have lost many pets due to different circumstances over the years . Now i fear to let my cats outside because of traffic or other things abound that could be harmful to my pets . My heart goes out to this woman . Our pets are part of the family and when we loose on it is extremely painful . I can only hope there is a pet certain place after this that is special just for our beloved pets.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
28 Sep 08
This is a very sad story. We have many stray cats in our neighborhood and sometimes I wonder what ever happened to some of them I no longer see.
I also feel very sad for this woman. It was a tremendous loss for her.
I hope she is feeling a little better now that some time has passed.
Lloyd
@cwilson26 (2735)
• United States
30 Jul 08
I read the article but I don't want to look at the video! I don't want to see a cat get killed like that or any other way. I agree about the comments people left and I left one after I read it about how you can't keep cats in if they don't want to be kept in. I have 4 cats and they are all outside. I'm surprised none of mine have been killed by coyotes because where I live, we live out in the country right by the woods and I have heard wild animals outside at night. I do not blame the cat owner because if a cat wants out they will find a way. Thanks for posting this.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
30 Jul 08
I can understand you not wanting to look at the video, especially since you are a cat owner yourself.
Cats do seem to have a mind of their own, so trying to keep one inside that doesn't want to kept inside would probably be difficult.
I'm glad you left a comment in support of Carol. She really needs some support.
Hopefully, any preditor lurking in the woods near you, will not be a match for your 4 cats.
Thanks for your reply.
Lloyd
@rsa101 (38166)
• Philippines
30 Jul 08
Well what I saw was a natural law in action. No one is to blame there. Coyotes are just doing what they are ought to do, to hunt for food, it just so happen that the poor cat was the victim at that time. Carol was not to be blamed too she just wants her cat to do her usual routine in the morning, she was not aware before that there was a wild coyote roaming around hunting for food so there's no point blaming her for that. As to controlling the Coyote population, I agree with the one that said we are the ones that occupied their natural habitat why would they be controlled as to their population. They are just doing their natural instincts there.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
30 Jul 08
The coyote was doing what it needs to survive. It is ashame that Caesar was his next victim.
Carol was letting her cat enjoy the freedom that some cats love. However, she was aware that there was a wild coyote in the area. She had seen one before.
I know that we are now occupying their natural habitat, but that won't be reversed.
We are going to have to come up with a solution that's in the best interest of the human population and the wildlife population.
What that is, I'm not sure.
Lloyd
@sunkissed (4330)
• United States
29 Jul 08
lloyd, Well first of all I feel very bad for this poor cat,Reasar that got killed by this coyote. But the way that I see it Carol was as much to blame for it as anyone was, she already knew that their were coyotes in the area, she stated she knew that her cat might be in danger.I myself have never seen a coyote where I live. But do have a cat I love more than anything in this world, my cat never goes outdoors for anything.Their are way too mant dangers out there for him.We must protect our pets, they do not have to be outdoors, if so not for long, and especially if we know there are animals around us like coyotes.We have been building so many sudevisions with big fancy houses and shopping malls on evey corner, and tearing down all the woods and forests where these animals used to live, we have invaded them, they no longer have a place to go.These animals are really doing what they need to do to survive.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
30 Jul 08
I also feel bad for Ceasar. It must have been a terrible experience.
Carol has to take some responsibility for what happened. She knew there was a coyote in the area and should have thought about the possiblity of it it attacking Ceasar.
We have torn down to many wilderness areas to build homes and the animals that used to live there really don't have anywhere else to go.
I really hope that we will be able to find a solution that is acceptable to both humans and wildlife.
Lloyd
@choudhary03 (943)
• Hyderabad, India
30 Jul 08
I go with the wild character of the coyote. They are meant to be in the wild and this is normal with every animal including humans (old times). I strongly agree with this. It is just normal behavior of the wild.
When she noticed that a coyote was lurking in the streets she should have taken necessary steps.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
30 Jul 08
Coyotes are definately considered a wild animal. That is why you don't see people keeping them as pets.
I don't blame the coyote for its behavior. It was acting out of hunger and instincts.
She probably should have taken the necessary steps to avoid her cat being perceived as prey.
Lloyd
@LlamaCookie527 (29)
• United States
30 Jul 08
That is so sad. I would be devastated if that happened to my pet. And I am sure that woman is terribly upset. I don't think she should blame her self and I don't think anyone else should say it's her fault. Cats are temperamental and they do what they want. Even if she made it come in, who's to say it wouldn't have gone back out there. I think that city should be doing better with relocating the animals. I don't believe in killing animals unless its suffering and is already terminal. So I think they need to work on relocating the coyotes. But all in all I don't think we should be placing the blame. Animals follow their instincts and its sad but these things do happen.
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
30 Jul 08
I think anyone would be devastate if this happened to their pet. I know Carol can't stop thinking about what happened.
Cats are very temperamental and a cat that loves the outdoors will find a way to get outside.
To me, killing the coyotes is not a option. Relocating them would be a better solution.
Now is not the time to place blame. It's the time to find solutions.
Thanks for your reply.
Lloyd
@lloydanthony111 (4698)
• United States
30 Jul 08
A lot of people are blaming Carol without taking into consideration the loss of her pet.
I'm sure she never thought such a thing would happen. Sometimes things happen that you would never expect.
I also feel sorry for Carol. We should show her some compassion while at this time.
She will come to grips with the fact that she probably could have prevented this from happening.
Lloyd
