If the cat is large and very determined, and the coyote is young and inexperienced, it’s possible. Most cats will run. They can climb trees. They can fit in very small spaces.
The majority of coyote attacks happen between 10 PM and 5 AM. Coyotes will go for kittens and small cats, or old and slow cats. They are opportunists. Don’t let your cat out, and there won’t be a problem.
This is Kagetora. He fought a coyote and won.
He was a street cat, dumped in our neighborhood a few months before. It was a common occurrence. We trapped him and neutered/vaccinated him, and then we released him. His favorite napping spot was the place where the feral females would have their kittens. He liked to play with them, he’d watch them while their moms were away, and he’d bring them excess kills.
Late one night, I heard this insane shriek. It sounded like a baby screaming. (Later, we would come to learn that this is Kagetora’s way of telling others to gtfo.) It was weird. I stopped and listened and there was more shrieking in the direction of the creche where all the kittens were. I dropped everything and ran over.
I got there, and Kagetora was lying on his side, heaving. I shined the flashlight over where the kittens were a few yards away. They were all there. Kagetora was in pretty bad shape. When we got him to the vet, he had some bite wounds, and it was clear the coyote had tried to shake him. But since Kagetora was pretty large, it hadn’t worked well.
Kagetora could have run. There were plenty of trees where he could have sought shelter. He could have outrun the coyote. But he stayed to protect kittens that weren’t even his.
We nursed him back to health and adopted him. We trapped the moms and the kittens and got them to the shelter.
Now Kagetora is an expert foster dad. He still has health issues from that night, but he doesn’t let it get him down. He’s such a sweetheart.
