Subject: Re: rampant raccoons
Date: Apr 18 12:35:41 1995
From: Jim Elder - jime at eskimo.com


On Tue, 18 Apr 1995, Michael Smith wrote:

> Mike, are you sure it was a raccoon that got your cat? I mean did you or
> someone else actually see it get killed by a coon? I ask because coyotes
> also scavenge Seattle neighborhoods at night, and a study conducted 2
> years ago by Tim Quinn found that 15% of their diet consisted of *CATS*.
> Over half of their diet was vegetarian, mostly stuff found in gardens
> (tomatoes were a favorite, I think). The diet data was based on scat
> analysis. Cats were the major meat source for urban coyotes.
>
> ____________________________
> Mike Smith
> Univ. of Washington, Seattle
> whimbrel at u.washington.edu
> http://salmo.cqs.washington.edu/~wagap/mike.html
>

Raccoons do kill cats. I have unfortunately witnessed this in my
neighborhood. I live on Q. Anne about 2 blocks from Mike. Furthermore
they live here in great abundance. I have seen at least six at one
time. I have never seen or heard or talked to anyone who has seen or
heard a coyote in the neighborhood though it is certainly possible. My
sympathies concerning your cat.

Jim Elder
jime at eskimo.com