Cat found dead in Belleville believed to be victim of coyote attack

By Marc Venema

A Belleville cat owner and the city’s animal control officer both believe a cat found dead in the city’s east end was the victim of a coyote attack.

East end Belleville resident Susan Smith’s tabby cat went missing earlier this week. She said she learned the whereabouts of the pet on a local lost animal Facebook page.

“Someone had posted that they found the cat near Bradgate and Elizabeth and thought it had been hit by a car,” Smith said.

“I went down to see if it was our cat and it was but it was obvious to me that is wasn’t hit by a car.

“He was in pieces really, his guts were all chewed out and his ribcage was busted and his intestines were 10 feet away.”

That’s when Ron Pierce, the city’s animal control and livestock evaluator, got a phone call. He immediately performed an autopsy.

“I wanted to rule out a fisher,” Pierce said. “That’s why I did what we call a field autopsy.”

He said all signs pointed to a coyote, mostly due to hemorrhaging at the back of the cat’s neck.

“Anything small like that, that’s where they would grab the animal, right at the back of the neck.”

Pierce said the city is home to coyotes, and that the usually hangout on the fringe of town until nobody is around.

“They come in in the early morning,” Pierce said. “No one’s around and they’re in to hunt rabbits. They find someone’s cat that’s out and that’s kind of next on the menu.”

Pierce said although it’s unlikely, smaller dogs could also become prey.

“Not too many dogs would be running at those hours, but I’m not saying these particular coyotes wouldn’t try a dog.”

Smith, who owns another two cats, said she tried to prevent such an event from happening.

“You try to keep them fenced in, I’ve fenced my yard to try to keep them in but cats are explorers.”

“I do have two more at home and they are now housecats.”

Pierce said keeping animals inside, especially at nighttime and early in the morning is the best prevention.

Pierce is also a licensed trapper, who has trapped coyotes for the city when they become too much of a problem. He said hasn’t done a trapping job for the city since the winter of 2009.