This work is supported by the generous backers who adore my cat stories at Patreon.com/amberunmasked and they also get first access to what’s happening with my books and podcast.
Where We Left Off:
There was a terrible accident in the kitchen when our beloved Cook got injured.
Fast and Furry-ous:
Maybe you didn’t know there was functional body armor for adventure cats. Allow me to introduce you to the Coyote Vest! (We don’t get compensated for this.) I first saw the Coyote Vest on a fellow adventure cat’s Instagram posts. I’ve seen photos of tiny dogs and even a baby goat wearing them too. Not only does the “Spike” style look like a badass punk rocker style, but it serves a purpose. The Coyote “Whisker” style is a bit more ridiculous to look at. It basically turns your adventure cat into a colorful porcupine which, I guess, makes a lot of sense when one needs protection from predators.
Does that mean Gus will be getting a CoyoteVest?
No, not at all. Gus barely tolerates wearing the thong-bikini version of a harness—the most basic “H” strap design. I tried a more durable and protective harness that would have covered his chest, but he squirmed an arm out of it and acted like he couldn’t walk.
I did work slowly on getting that on Oliver, but that’s a long story; and now we’ve all agreed Ollie can keep strolling around in his buggy. Gus would love to be completely naked instead of strapped with bright colors and bells.
In the realm of cat armor, you might have seen an uncredited tabby wearing medieval style leather body armor. A little sleuthing brought us to Savage Punk Studio, creators of fine leather accessories.
Despite that tangent, this is a case file about coyotes.
Meet Armando and Cookie, the pair of coyotes that have been prancing through our backyard mostly in the dark. Sometimes, they’ve passed by the trailcam during the day which has given us beautiful images. (Bonus points if you know where their names come from). Gus and Oliver are safe from the coyotes. No need to worry.
Like wolves, coyotes are maligned as scary creatures skulking in the dark waiting to find prey and rip it to shreds. Now, technically, that might be what they do in order to eat, but for the most part, humans have absolutely nothing to worry about. It’s quite rare. There have only been two attacks on humans that were fatal in North America. Coyotes, however, can carry rabies which is a horrible disease. If your pet comes into contact with any rabid wildlife, I’m sorry to say, the results may be dire. Gus and Oliver get their vaccinations, but I still don’t want to test the effectiveness.
The word coyote comes from the Nahuatl name coyōtl. It’s pronounced a lot like the two-syllable version kī-yōt and in the Nahuatl language, the ending “L” on words is barely there if at all.
Coyotes have been in folklore forever in every part of the world where they exist. They have a presence from Alaska and Canada, through the United States, and throughout Central America. They are frequently hunted by humans even though they control populations of animals like deer. Killing apex predators is simply ignorant.
Armando and Cookie seem to be a pair, but we only have evidence of them together on one date, February 28, 2024. We don’t have any evidence for a DNA sample unfortunately. Based on visual analysis both of them appear to be 100% coyote (C. latrans). I’m bringing this up because there are hybrids (and not one I’m inventing) called coywolves, as you can probably guess are a cross of coyotes and wolves from them mating together. It’s kind of your shepsky (Gerberian Shepsky which means Siberian Husky and German Shepherd) of the wild canidae world.
What about other coyote creatures?
This wouldn’t be a Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency case if we didn’t posit the theory that there are were-coyotes just as there are werewolves. There are myths of coyotes that are humans who can morph/shapeshift. Sometimes called werecoyote, coyotlwere, Nuwisha, and the more generalized lycanthrope.
Why not consider morphing into non-human creatures? Why hasn’t anyone mentioned that? A coyote that could shapeshift into a teacup poodle and easily slip through livestock fencing seems like a good skill for the beast; or, perhaps, the ability to sprout wings like our Jersey devil-deer hybrids. That sounds useful especially when humans are allowed to hunt from freaking helicopters!
Case Findings:
Gus and Oliver are eager to see if we can get any genetic evidence from Armando and Cookie to see if they are 100% natural coyotes, coyote hybrids, or werecoyotes. That might mean I have to expand my research of scat samples, but unless I see it on the trailcam, I’m not picking it up.
Case Status: Open
