Yes, coyotes will kill and eat domestic cats. How often this happens depends heavily on where you live. Across most of the United States, cats show up in only 0 to 2% of coyote diet studies. But in parts of southern California, that number jumps dramatically: cat remains were found in 20% of urban coyote scat samples in the Los Angeles area. The risk is real, and in some regions it’s significant.
How Often Coyotes Actually Eat Cats
The broad national picture can be misleading. Multiple diet analyses spanning different cities have consistently found that cats make up a very small fraction of what coyotes eat in most urban and suburban areas. Coyotes are opportunistic omnivores. Their typical diet includes rodents, rabbits, insects, fruit, and garbage.
Southern California tells a different story. A National Park Service study using both scat analysis and chemical analysis of coyote tissues found that human-related food sources, including garbage, ornamental fruits, and domestic cats, made up 60 to 75% of urban coyote diets in the region. Cat remains appeared in 20% of urban coyote scat compared to just 4% in suburban coyote scat from the same study area. Urban coyotes in these fragmented landscapes have fewer natural prey options and more access to cats that roam outdoors.
So the short answer is: in most cities, the average coyote isn’t regularly hunting cats. But in areas where coyote habitat overlaps tightly with residential neighborhoods, especially in the western U.S., cats become a meaningful part of the diet.
Where and When Cats Are Most Vulnerable
Coyotes and cats naturally gravitate toward different spaces. Research tracking both species in urban parks found that coyotes prefer wooded and natural areas, while cats stick close to developed residential zones. In places without large predators, cats freely roam green spaces and habitat fragments. But when coyotes are present, cats tend to retreat to the edges of those areas, staying closer to houses and human activity.
The danger zone is the boundary between natural habitat and residential neighborhoods. Cats that wander into greenbelts, canyons, parks, or open lots are moving into territory where coyotes are most comfortable. This overlap is especially pronounced in cities built around fragmented natural landscapes, which is why southern California sees such high predation rates compared to, say, Chicago or Atlanta.
Timing matters too. Coyotes are crepuscular, meaning they’re most active at dawn and dusk. In suburban areas, they shift even further toward nighttime activity to avoid people. A cat left outside overnight or let out early in the morning faces the highest risk. In colder months, coyotes sometimes hunt throughout the day to meet their energy needs, which can extend the window of danger. In rural areas with less human presence, daytime movement is more common year-round.
Why Some Cats Are at Greater Risk
Not every outdoor cat faces the same level of danger. Several factors raise the odds of a fatal encounter:
- Free-roaming at night. Cats allowed to roam from dusk to dawn overlap almost perfectly with peak coyote activity hours.
- Proximity to natural areas. Living near canyons, undeveloped lots, parks, or creek corridors puts your cat closer to coyote territory.
- Smaller body size. Kittens and smaller cats are easier prey. A large adult cat may not be a coyote’s first choice, but a hungry coyote won’t pass up the opportunity.
- Outdoor food sources. Pet food bowls, bird feeders, fallen fruit, and unsecured garbage attract coyotes into yards, creating encounters that might not otherwise happen.
How to Protect Outdoor Cats
The single most effective protection is keeping your cat indoors, especially between dusk and dawn. This eliminates the overlap with coyote activity almost entirely. For cats that do go outside, supervised time in a secure enclosure (often called a “catio”) provides fresh air without the risk.
Fencing can help, but standard residential fences aren’t enough. Coyotes can jump up to 6 feet, so effective coyote-proof fencing needs to be at least 8 feet tall. Adding a coyote roller to the top of an existing fence is a popular and practical option. These are spinning bars mounted along the fence line that prevent a coyote from getting the grip it needs to pull itself over. Without modifications, a typical 6-foot privacy fence offers little real protection.
Removing attractants from your yard makes a meaningful difference. Pick up pet food bowls before dark. Secure trash cans. Clean up fallen fruit from trees. Bird feeders attract rodents, which in turn attract coyotes, so consider removing them if coyotes are active in your neighborhood. The goal is to make your property uninteresting to a foraging coyote.
Does Hazing Keep Coyotes Away?
Hazing is the practice of scaring coyotes to reinforce their natural wariness of people. Techniques include yelling, stomping your feet, shaking a can filled with coins, or spraying water from a hose. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service identifies hazing as one of the key tools for reducing urban coyote conflicts, alongside removing food sources and preventing direct pet-coyote interactions.
Hazing works best as a community effort. A single person scaring off a coyote once won’t change its behavior long-term. But when an entire neighborhood consistently responds to coyote sightings with loud, assertive hazing, coyotes learn to avoid the area. The critical piece is consistency. A coyote that gets hazed on one block but finds easy food on the next will keep coming back. Proactive hazing before conflicts escalate is far more effective than reactive measures after a pet has already been taken.
What a Coyote Attack Looks Like
Coyotes typically hunt cats by ambush rather than prolonged chase. A coyote may stalk a cat from cover, close the distance quickly, and kill with a bite to the neck or head. These attacks happen fast and are usually silent. Many cat owners never witness the event. The cat simply doesn’t come home.
If you find your cat injured and suspect a coyote, look for puncture wounds on the neck, shoulders, or hindquarters. Coyote bites leave wider spacing between puncture marks than those from other cats or small dogs. In many cases, though, there’s no body to find at all. Coyotes often carry smaller prey away to eat elsewhere, which is why disappearance rather than a visible attack is the more common experience for pet owners.