Some safety reminders about coyotes in Edmonds

A coyote at the Edmonds Marsh in 2013 (Photo by LeRoy VanHee)

We received an email Saturday from an Edmonds reader concerned after seeing a coyote crossing through her fenced yard. We thought it would be a good time to provide some resources to address the issue of coyotes in Edmonds, including the risk they can pose to cats and small dogs left unattended outdoors.

For starters, here’s a link to helpful information from the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

And here’s an excerpt from a 2016 Ask the Edmonds Cop program, when Edmonds Police Sgt. Shane Hawley talked about coyotes as one of our frequently asked questions:

  1. We’ve seen a couple at the park on Elm Way east of 6th. Lots of people take their dogs here but we don’t anymore.

  2. Coyotes love unattended cats. It is best to keep a close eye on them and not let them wander, especially at night.

  3. Probably going to catch a lot of flack for this.

    I for one look forward to seeing a coyote in my neighborhood. We have at least three cats running around here. I’ve had to tear out the garden under our bedroom window as they were using it as a litter box. They have been observed (by me) pulling chicks from birdhouses, killing them and going back for the rest. They are non-native, not dependent on hunting for survival and it’s a well known FACT that outdoor cats have a shorter life expectancy. Yet people still get one just to send it out the house all night.

    This should be some kind of animal abuse. Yet the city bowed to the cat people and removed the ordnance from the books. Why? How many of you know what the washington state bird is? It’s the American Goldfinch. Last question. When was the last time you’ve seen one?

    Disclaimer: we have dogs and yes having cats go thru our backyard is very disturbing to them and by extension us. But we don’t hate cats or cat people. Hell, some of our best friends are cat people. They just don’t let them out and have stated the same reasons why.

  4. A Coyote diet also consists of rabbits, rats, mice, and mountain beavers which are a form of rodent found living in moist, ferny, hillside ravines.

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