`OH MY GOD, IT'S A COYOTE'; VALLEY RESIDENTS FEAR FOR THEIR PETS.

Byline: Sharline Chiang Daily News Staff Writer

While other suburban homeowners fret over pesky ants, Cheryl Moore and her neighbors on Dannyboyar Avenue have a bigger problem - cat-eating coyotes.

A few weeks ago, Moore watched a coyote snatch her 10-year-old cat, Stephanie, from the front lawn before taking off. The cat was later found dead 15 houses away.

``I saw it and I said, `What is that? What is that? Oh my God, it's a coyote. And that's our cat,' '' she said. ``You know it's nature and you know they have to hunt, but you don't expect them to hunt your cats.''

Moore's neighbor, Garrett Kimball, said he has had so many cats killed over the past year he's lost track of their names.

He's seen at least four carcasses on a lawn across the street.

Kimball said he and others on the street are feeling helpless in keeping the capering canines away from pets.

``I know coyotes have as much a right to live here as we do,'' Kimball said. ``I just don't want them to kill our cats.''

West Hills is not alone.

Animal control experts say coyotes in the San Fernando Valley are an age-old problem for pet owners, with scores of complaints each year.

City officials are seeing an increase in complaints about coyotes in some areas of the San Fernando Valley and are recommending that residents keep small dogs and cats indoors at night. No exact numbers were immediately available by neighborhood on the sightings.

``This time of year we traditionally get more calls about coyotes because the coyote pups are out and are foraging for food,'' said Peter Persic, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Regulation.

``The pups are usually born in March or April. By the summertime they are on their own, they start foraging for food on their own,'' Persic said. ``So although we have seen an increase, it's not unusual for this time of year.''

Coyotes tend to frequent neighborhoods within migration pathways, such as flood control channels, freeways, hillside erosion gutters and places with water.

Ironically, residential development actually works in favor of coyote survival, according to Gini Barrett, director of the American Humane Association's western regional office.

``We take their habitat and remove all predators and we provide an easy way to catch food - little dogs and cats - and water,'' Barrett said.

Persic said annual statistics kept by his department show the number of actual complaints about coyotes has decreased somewhat in years. In fiscal year 1994-95 there were 237 complaints in the city; in 1995-96 there were 195, and 1996-97 there were 162.

Coyotes are a threat to people, too. In 1979, a coyote attempted to drag a baby out of a yard in Agoura; in 1981 a coyote killed a girl in her Glendale yard.

The question of how to cope with coyotes' intrusion into residential areas has triggered debate in Los Angeles, pitting fearful residents against animal rights activists. The Los Angeles City Council banned trapping of coyotes in 1993, except in extraordinary cases.

Though some West Hills residents said they would like to see coyotes removed, Barrett said California law prohibits capturing and relocating coyotes for fear of disrupting ecosystems. Any coyote that is caught must be exterminated, she said.

The best way to deal with coyotes, Barrett said, is to learn how to live with them.

The city offers a brochure titled ``Co-Existing with the Coyote.'' Residents may request a copy of the brochure by contacting the city's east San Fernando Valley animal shelter at [phone].

``Across the nation, every place has coyotes, even in major cities,'' Barrett said. ``Every attempt to eradicate them has failed. Others just come right in and fill the gap.''

COYOTES AND YOU

The Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation and the California Department of Fish and Game offer the following tips for coping with coyotes.

What you should do:

Keep pets indoors at night or any other time when a coyote is known to be in the area.

Accompany small dogs in well-lighted areas for walks at night.

Walk small dogs on a leash when off your property.

Confine poultry and rabbits in covered enclosures constructed with heavy mesh wire.

Keep all outdoor trash can lids securely fastened.

Pick backyard fruit as soon as it ripens and keep rotten fruit off the ground.

What you should not do:

Don't feed wild animals.

Don't leave pet food outside, particularly at night.

Don't allow pets to roam from home, especially at night.

Don't leave water bowls for pets outdoors.

Don't leave water in birdbaths or bird seed outdoors.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

Photo: Garrett Kimball and his daughters, Heather, 8, left, and Amanda, 9, play with their pet cats on the lawn of their West Hills home. The Kimballs have lost many pets to coyotes.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News

Box: COYOTES AND YOU (see text)