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Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, August 19, 2017. In the past few weeks, I've received reminders from multiple neighbors regarding rat poison and cats. When the cat, pictured here, showed up with a fresh kill, the cat's owner immediately distracted the cat with cat treats, praised the cat's hunting skills. Simultaneously, the owner scooped up the rat in a plastic bag and threw it in a closed trash bin.
The owner did not want the cat to get poisoned in the event the rat had ingested poison. Rat poison works its way up the food chain, as the Griffith Park Mountain Lion, P-22's bout with mange highlighted the way rat poison weakens the immune systems of the animals further up the food chain. P-22 recovered with veterinary assistance, but he was a much larger animal than a killer house cat. House cats are extremely sensitive to poisons. Bobcat deaths from the effects of secondary poisoning are epidemic in the Los Angeles Area.
Another neighbor contacted me last week after finding a dead rat on the sidewalk. The rat showed no sign of trauma or puncture woulds. The neighbor suspects rat poison and is concerned that people dispose of dead rats appropriately - bag up the dead rat and throw it in the trash. DO NOT throw rats retrieved by your cat or killed in a trap, into a vacant lot, your neighbor's yard or in the street. A cat, some dogs and scavengers may ingest poison causing serious illness or potentially death.
Read more abut the dangers of rat poison in the food chain: Urban Carnivores.
Atlas has been missing since around 5:30 AM Saturday. He is an older cat who is much loved & needs thyroid medication. Atlas was wearing a collar & tags and is microchipped.
*UPDATE 1-8-15: We received sad news today from Atlas' owners that evidence indicates Atlas fell victim to a coyote shortly after being let out, Saturday morning. Our hearts go out to them for their loss.
We are a hyperlocal blog and are always willing to post lost & found animals from the Red Car Property neighborhood, just send us photo (.jpg) and pertinent info. Please confirm that you are the owner so we don't publish contact info without permission: redcarproperty@gmail.com.
Another good place to post your own notice is The Eastsider's Animals page.
Photo: Amy Seidenwurm, March 3, 2014, 7:43AM. Two coyotes are eating an orange tabby cat beneath the tree adjacent to the Silver Lake Ave Public Staircase,between Lake View Ave & Silver Ridge.
Another neighbor witnessed the scene a few moments earlier:
"Warning, if you're a cat lover and know the loose cats in the neighborhood, this may be upsetting...
On my morning run today, at approximately 7:30 AM, I was passing by the Silver Lake Ave. stairs and saw two coyotes just up the hill from Lake View Ave. eating an orange cat. The cat was quite large...they were having trouble carrying it up the hill, but stopped to consume it about halfway up the vacant lot facing Lake View Ave. (on the left as you ascend the stairs).
I had been out walking my dog shortly before that, and a passerby in a car warned me that there was a coyote near the corner of Lake View and Silver Ridge (just in front of my house at 22XX Silver Ridge), so they apparently worked their way northward on Lake View Ave., hunting."
Warning, you may find the next photo upsetting, but I want people to see what a gruesome death it is for a cat to fall prey to coyotes. If you don't want your cat to be a meal for a coyote, keep them indoors.
Photo: Amy Seidenwurm, March 3, 2014. The coyote on the right looks young. It also looks a lot like the one seen at the rear of a house on Lake View last week.
Across the City, drought has coyotes looking in backyards for food more than usual right now. Learn more about what you can do to make your yard less attractive to them : LA City Animal Services
