A Garibaldi Highlands family had a disturbing start to their Friday the 13th when they found an unidentified, dead, mutilated cat in their yard in the early morning.
A neighbour knocked on the Moses’ door at about 8:30 a.m. to alert them to the deceased cat on the edge of their property on The Boulevard.
“It was quite a sight,” said Emma Moses, who added she and her husband hadn’t heard anything unusual during the night.
The family has three young boys.
“My initial thought was: How do I dispose of this before my children see it?”
Moses called the BC Conservation Officer Service and the Squamish RCMP, who came immediately, she said, along with District of Squamish staff.
“Everything indicated it was killed by wildlife,” said Squamish conservation officer Simon Gravel. “We believe the animal involved was probably spooked by a vehicle passing by and just left the carcass in the area.”
He added no reports have been made of any cougars or coyotes actively hunting in the area at night. He encouraged residents to call the conservation office if they see wildlife activity near their homes.
Gravel said he couldn’t indicate with certainty which species was responsible but said clues indicate it was likely a cougar.
“Although it could be a bobcat, coyotes could do that as well, wolves, we do have many wildlife species in the area that are hunting in our residential area at night.”
The incident serves as a warning to pet owners, Gravel said. “House cats do attract wildlife as well, so if there are a lot of cats in an area of course there is going to be coyotes and maybe some cougars, and now we are exposing people to further risk,” he said. “Owners should really keep their cats inside.”
“There was no collar found, so we were not able to determine the owner,” he said.
The deceased cat was given to the municipality and passed on to a local veterinarian.
Gravel said the owners can contact the Squamish SPCA at 604-898-9890 to retrieve the animal’s body.
To report wildlife encounters call 1-877-952-7277.
