Mu searched for a cat in Kirkland. We searched for three hours and covered a lot of territory. As we were almost done, I decided to search the edge of the school yard. Predators would use a zone like that. I didn’t really suspect a predator in this case, but I mostly wanted to check it to rule it out. We found some coyote scat, the tail of a rabbit, and half a rodent, all signs that coyotes were active in this area. A little farther on, Mu found coyote scat that contained fur roughly the color of the lost cat, and also a cat claw. This seemed a pretty strong indicator that their cat had been taken by a coyote. I told the owner I would take the scat home and look more closely. Later, I sent him an email stating that I was pretty sure that his cat had in fact been eaten by a coyote, but that this evidence wasn’t conclusive proof. He replied that they weren’t giving up hope and would keep looking. I never know how much I should try to be convincing and final when I think a pet is deceased. I was wrong, once. I thought we had found remains of a cat, and then the cat came home the next day. I wish DNA testing was cheap and easy, so we could have more certainty in these cases.
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James Branson
Principal at Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue, volunteer at Useless Bay Sanctuary, author of A Voice for the Lost Archives
December 2019
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