Caught on camera: Pair of coyotes kill cat, owners worried for their safety

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - A family is mourning the loss of its beloved cat, after it was attacked and killed by what appears to be coyotes.

“I’m very sad, I’m very upset,” said Vlad Vanchanka.

Vanchanka says he can’t get the image of his cat’s last minutes of life.

Surveillance video captured the gruesome moment his cat of 10 years was killed by two coyotes steps outside his home located south of Fruitville Road near Beneva in Sarasota.

“When we started the video, we realized the chair got moved and usually the cats don’t have that much weight, they don’t have that much force to move a chair,” he said.

This happened last Wednesday around 5:30 a.m. The video shows his cat initially sitting on a chair on his patio. That’s when one coyote approaches it. The cat goes running after it.

Then seconds later, two coyotes start chasing the cat back into the porch. The coyotes are then seen dragging the cat to nearby bushes.

Vanchanka found his cat’s remains hours later after he noticed his cat was gone. He says this is the first time he has seen something like this.

“I’m horrified. I haven’t been able to go outside, only in daytime when I know for sure there won’t be any,” said Valeriya Rozin.

Rozin, who is Vanchanka’s wife, is now frightened to go outside by herself as the couple have a 2-month-old baby. To make matters worse, their other cat died Friday morning from what they say it was a broken heart.

“It wasn’t just an immediate effect that happened but also it continues to affect my family,” she said.

Their neighbor, Avis Zoborowski, has a 16-year-old Lhasa Shi Tzu, and says she saw three coyotes roaming outside her mailbox one morning. She’s now scared to take her dog out for a walk.

“I’m afraid that by the time that I saw a coyote coming, by the time I pick her up, that dog will be right on my face. I just go out there and pray that everything will be alright,” said Zoborowski.

Now they’re asking for answers.

“My first question like, what should we do?” said Vanchanka.

ABC7 reached out to wildlife expert Justin Matthews who says coyotes can hang out in a pack. There’s nothing that can be done other than coexist and he warns you should be careful when it comes to pets and children. If you do come in contact with a coyote, make eye contact with the animal as they’re ambush predators.

Vanchanka and Rozin say they have called FWC since the incident, but want something done as they live in a residential area.

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