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Coyote might be behind cat disappearance in Collier
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A cat missing from a Quail Creek lanai is raising concerns that a spate of coyote attacks has spread to Collier County.
Wildlife officers said Tuesday they have no proof that a coyote snatched Carole Mendelsohn’s 13-pound orange tabby, Satchel, but they’re not ruling it out, either.
“It could very well be a coyote, we don’t know,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Capt. Jayson Horadam said. “It didn’t leave enough behind for us to tell.”
Nobody saw a coyote at Mendelsohn’s lanai, and paw prints at the scene weren’t discernible enough to be identified, Horadam said.
He said officers took a swatch of fur from a tear in the lanai screen for possible DNA analysis.
Coyotes have been blamed in a dozen animal attacks since early March in southern Lee County. Three small dogs have been killed, three others have been injured and a woman was bitten by a coyote that attacked her dachshund.
The attacks happened in the Brooks, Lakes of Estero and Rapallo neighborhoods. A coyote is a possible culprit in the deaths of five pygmy goats last week in Bonita Springs.
Residents in Quail Creek, northeast of Interstate 75 and Immokalee Road, have reported coyote sightings for the past few weeks.
The last time Mendelsohn, 66, saw Satchel was Saturday night. She gave the diabetic 14-year-old cat an insulin shot at about 11:30 p.m., she said.
Satchel lived on the lanai, which has cat doors into a kitchen and bathroom area, she said.
When she was having her Sunday morning coffee, Mendelsohn said, she found it strange that Satchel didn’t come around. She went looking for him.
That’s when she made a “horrifying discovery” in her herb garden planted in a corner of her lanai on Butterfly Orchid Lane, Mendelsohn said. Two tall parsley plants were trampled, the lanai screen was ripped open in two spots and Satchel was gone.
Mendelsohn said she had read about the coyote attacks in Lee County and was aware of the reports of sightings in Quail Creek but assumed her lanai was safe.
“I felt very helpless that this happened to me,” she said Tuesday. “It’s frightening.”
Mendelsohn said she sometimes heard Satchel yowling at night from the lanai, but she didn’t hear a sound Saturday night.
Horadam, with the FWC, said the coyote connection is only speculation at this point, fueled by earlier coyote reports this spring.
Since June 1, the FWC has received 11 calls about coyotes. Half of those have turned out to be dogs, he said.
He said he has contacted FWC authorities in Tallahassee about how to deal with the “ongoing issue” of coyote reports in Southwest Florida.
“We can just assume we’ll get more and more of these situations occurring,” Horadam said.
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How did the coyote get thru the security gate?
He must have had a green card and told the guard he was doing lawn maintenence.
#1 Posted by swampbuggy on June 17, 2008 at 9:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Swampbuggy, cute. Really.
Funny thing is that a while back residents of the Estates (where I live) were upset and blaming panthers for death of livestock. I remember one incident with goats in particular. Well, there have been coyotes in the Estates for quite some time. I suspected they were the possible attackers because of the pictures of predation reported were typical of coyote predation.
I know we have had coyotes prowling in our area. I have noticed fewer native field mice in our area and the rabbits are especially quick right now. Haven't seen some of the feral cats which used to pick on our song birds either. Don't miss the feral cats.
What people need to realize is the coyote is doing great in this part of Florida. They are secretive, well camouflaged and exceedingly adapted to living in golf course communities, the Estates, Golden Gate and even downtown Naples. They earned the adjective wily. They do like open fields with some cover on the edges (sounds like a golf course to me).
Walk loudly, carry a big stick and be prepared to fend them off should you have small pets that have small bladders.
PS, don't let your kitties outside....and the lanai? well, screen is not much of a barrier to hunger.
#2 Posted by BlueTonguedVole on June 17, 2008 at 9:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Bigfoot did it!!!
#3 Posted by Hindsight on June 17, 2008 at 9:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
No, Bush did it! LOL.
#4 Posted by BlueTonguedVole on June 17, 2008 at 10:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
what does a coyote look like, i used to live out in the estates from 1996-2003, all i saw was panthers, bob cats
#5 Posted by prccarold on June 17, 2008 at 10:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
All of the feral cat lovers should now come to the aid of the much maligned coyote, don't you think? Probably not....we need more coyotes and fewer cats.
#6 Posted by 12gauge on June 17, 2008 at 10:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Can you imagine what the rest of the world thinks about a place where a missing cat is actually considered newsworthy?
Is this really the best the Naples Daily News can do?
#7 Posted by GladILeft on June 17, 2008 at 10:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
WHO CARES!!!!!! Enough Coyote stories, NDN u r really reaching here. A story about a cat that may have been taken by a coyote. It may have been taken by Bigfoot also but nobody saw and nobody cares!
#8 Posted by Hog on June 17, 2008 at 11:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think it was either global warming or a Hurricane.
#9 Posted by myrealname on June 17, 2008 at 11:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How can they justify DNA testing for a missing kitty cat.
good thing O.J. wasn't having a round of golf at quail creek
#10 Posted by everglds on June 17, 2008 at 11:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What Hog said.
#11 Posted by 676 on June 17, 2008 at 11:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
dixielee, what a stupid comment......."teach the coyotes to steal illegals..."
I agree that there is a bad immigrant problem, but you want to teach the coyotes to steal the illegals?
Can coyotes do this?
Sheesh.
#12 Posted by volochine on June 18, 2008 at 1:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I spotted a coyote close to the sweetbat at 951 and vanderbelt about a month ago
#13 Posted by bible on June 18, 2008 at 6:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It sounds like the poor coyotes are getting blamed for everything. Well at least now they'll stop blaming the illegals for a while. Why would you leave your cat on your lanai, where a screen is the only protection, if you had heard of sightings of coyotes in the area? Those screens aren't very protective and just about any kind of animal can get through them.
#14 Posted by youreallcrazy on June 18, 2008 at 7:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Cats shouldn't be let outdoors; keep them safe and keep them inside.
#15 Posted by beachykeen on June 18, 2008 at 7:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Chinese friend said they taste like chicken.
#16 Posted by Hindsight on June 18, 2008 at 7:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Cat......the other white meat.
#17 Posted by 12gauge on June 18, 2008 at 8:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Pennsylvania several years ago had a fox problem, the game commission introduced coyotes into the wild to control the fox population. Now Pennsylvania has a COYOTE problem.
#18 Posted by deltaraider21 on June 18, 2008 at 8:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
My boyfriend and were driving on Immokalee road a couple of months ago when a coyote ran in front of my car, this was just east of the intersection of Livingston Road and Immokalee road. At first we thought it was a dog, but the stance and shape was all wrong for a dog.
#19 Posted by dizzy92072 on June 18, 2008 at 9:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Time to hunt for some Coyote!
#20 Posted by jbum on June 18, 2008 at 9:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ever since declawing, Satchel has been pawing at that hidden corner of lanai for years and finally broke loose. He's free and ran to Longshore Lake for some fun! Sounds like we need the Roadrunner to handle these Wile E Coyotes. Isn't there a Acme company in town.
#21 Posted by Stugots on June 18, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Bar-B-Que, jbum's place, saturday, 1pm sharp!
#22 Posted by SandnSurf on June 18, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe Governor Crist will about face on Florida Wildlife and start spraying for Coyotes. I agree, there should be more newsworthy things than this.
#23 Posted by theabyss on June 18, 2008 at 10:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The coyote threat is spreading! Be warned! Along with africanized bees, global warming, global cooling and the chupacabra it is only a matter of time that each and every one of us will DIE!!!!
#24 Posted by Smark on June 18, 2008 at 10:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
#25 BignRich what are you NDN police? You're one to comment on grammar what's up with the commas?
#25 Posted by youreallcrazy on June 18, 2008 at 10:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh and don't forget the grey aliens, draconians and the humanoids, they are all coming to get you!!
#26 Posted by Hendry on June 18, 2008 at 10:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
BignRich, that was funny!
#27 Posted by Hendry on June 18, 2008 at 11:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The owner of the cat probably angered the head of the homeowners association, so the head took out a hit on the cat, this was not coyotes.
#28 Posted by personalj on June 18, 2008 at 11:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The NDN's publishes these articles so everyone in the newsroom can get a laugh out of the 35+ posts.
Who's really the fool?
#29 Posted by mattmaki on June 18, 2008 at 2:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So... is this a cat, or the Lindbergh baby? WHO CARES?
#30 Posted by Smoke_Diver on June 18, 2008 at 3:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ya know what, it was none other than-
Wile E. Coyote.
It was simple- he just stood there and repeated "here kitty, kitty, kitty...here kitty, kitty, kitty...."
BTW, #20 by 12gauge-
THAT was f***in' funny...
#31 Posted by leftubehind on June 18, 2008 at 11:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
BignRich & JYD, don't you guys mean you found some COUGARS at the Witches Brew?? :)
#32 Posted by emmylopez on June 19, 2008 at 10:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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