Cats reported killed by coyotes on Bend’s Westside

Bend resident Leila Thompson lost her cat to a coyote attack.

“I’d say she was great company and really was one of my best pals. I travel a lot and I always couldn’t wait to come home and see Ellie,” Thompson said tearfully.

She found remains of her beloved 16-year-old cat, Ellie, on Sunday.

Ellie went missing on Aug. 21. Thompson was overseas when her friend, who was house-sitting, told her that Ellie went missing.

“One day, she just didn’t come home,” family friend Doug Reinthal said. “It was obvious that something has changed, something different had happened, and we started searching for her.”

They searched for three weeks, putting up fliers and asking neighbors. Many neighbors were missing their cats as well.

“We even found the remains of a cat and a collar that turns out to be someone that I’ve known for many years,” Reinthal said.

Thompson is not new to the area, but was not aware of the acute coyote danger in her neighborhood.

“I’ve lived in Bend since 1989. I know that we have coyotes, but I never thought about coyotes in downtown Bend,” Thompson said.

Now, she wishes she had done things differently, and she hopes to send a reminder to others.

“If people do choose to let their cats out at night I just want them to know that there is the possibility that they won’t return,” Thompson said.

It’s a message that comes too late for Ellie.

“We spent a lot of time together, and she was a very important part of my life,” Thompson said tearfully.

Corey Heath, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist in Bend, said he’d not heard of recent coyote reports in the area, but earlier in the summer received “lots of calls from Awbrey Butte.”

“Most folks were concerned about the increasing numbers of coyotes on Awbrey Butte,” Heath said.

“We get calls that pets are missing — rarely does anyone ever see a coyote with a cat,” he said. “House cats go missing for lots of reasons.”

The issue, he agreed, is people who let their cats roam at night, “which is also when coyotes are out foraging.”

He said great horned owls also can take cats, and then there’s the threat of being hit by a car.

“When coyotes are running loose, that’s a risky time to have house cats running around,” he said.

Cats also can go after other wildlife, not just be the victim, Heath noted.

“We get reports of rabbits being injured by house cats, small mammals — squirrels at night, silver grays during the day,” he said. “We’ve had cases of cats playing with bats.”