October 21, 2004

Nine Lives—and then some
18-year-old saves pet cat from six coyotes

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

She’s an American Curl, best known for its unusual curled ears—only without the curl, a defect, according to the Venn family. But what makes Buffy more unique than her breed is the distinction of being the only cat in Almaden reported to have survived an attack by not one, but six coyotes—thanks to the fearless heroics of 18-year-old Nick Venn.

Although coyote sightings have become commonplace in Almaden and their growth in numbers is in direct contrast to the declining cat population, Buffy’s brush with death last Friday night is an anomaly. And at nearly 12 years old, she’s living proof that a cat can have more than nine lives.

18-year-old Nick Venn gently holds his cat Buffy nearly two weeks after rescuing her from the jaws of one of six coyotes in his front yard near Blossom Hill Road and Camden Avenue. Photo by Kymberli W. Brady.

According to Lena and Randy Venn, their son Nick had started to settle in around 2:30 in the morning after an evening with his girlfriend, when he heard scratching outside his bedroom window.

“I was in my bathroom and could see a coyote across the street from our house looking back at us,” remembered Lena. “It wasn’t until a few seconds later, I heard Nick race out the door.”

“I saw dark shapes converging on a point and remembered seeing my cat outside about an hour before,” added Nick. “I threw some pants on and ran outside. They scattered, but one was carrying this fluffy white thing—I wasn’t sure if it was my cat, so I chased it down the street, until it dropped her.”

“At that point, my son no longer paid any attention to them and was on the ground with her,” Lena said. “She was bleeding and couldn’t breathe. It was a horrible experience.”

It’s been touch and go for the past week, and after two puncture wounds to the head, along with a broken eardrum, fractured rib, collapsed lung, internal bruising, and a $1,500 veterinarian bill, the tattered feline is finally starting to show signs of recovery.

The Venn’s are simply grateful to have Buffy home—and thankful that their son wasn’t attacked while trying to save the family pet he’d had since he was 6 years old. Still, they face a difficult road ahead.

“I am afraid we will have to make some serious choices regarding her in the near future,” admits Randy. “For now, we talk to her and try and get her to eat and drink. She went through a lot, so we are going to be patient, and let nature take its course.”

“She’s starting to walk around and eat a little,” exclaims Nick, who doesn’t think twice about the decision to place himself in harm’s way. “I think I have the only cat that has survived a coyote attack.”

While friends and family continue to praise Nick’s heroics, Lena looks back on the early morning episode that found her son standing in between six coyotes and their meal. In hindsight, she warns that it could have been much more tragic.

“They had their prey—and the taste of blood,” she says. “It’s amazing to me that they took off.”

The event raises the bar another notch on the mounting coyote problem in Almaden, and questions whether the City Council’s decision to keep its current ordinance status quo was a judicious one. With an “absolute” prohibition on padded leg hold traps—considered by some the only effective method to trap troublesome coyotes, many residents are calling it a recipe for disaster without a contingency plan in place.

The Venn’s don’t live in the Villas or a rural area. While their home overlooks an empty field near the perk ponds, it lies in a heavily populated residential neighborhood near Camden Avenue and Blossom Hill Road. However, they admit that not changing Buffy’s living arrangement after a long life lived both inside and out was a decision they willingly made.

“I had no idea they were hunting in packs though,” Lena says. “She’s almost 12 and set in her ways. We let her out, thinking she could take care of herself.”

“We are feeling a bit guilty because we let her out knowing the potential danger,” admits Randy. “Do we feel something needs to be done? Absolutely. Are leg traps the best way to handle this? I’m not sure—I am in no way an expert on animal control.”

For Lena, this marked her second experience with feline bloodshed over the past few months, and began when she found what was left of a neighborhood cat in her front yard. The collar—still attached, bore its name and owner’s phone number.

“I had to call this family and tell them about their cat,” she says. “That was a tough call to make.”

Although the city was notified by authorities that recent urbanized coyote interactions posed an eminent threat to public safety, they instead recommended human behavior modification and non-lethal removal methods—which have some councilmembers uncomfortable about future liability. Fortunately, the Venn family will not be their first case.

“I can’t see suing the city for us knowingly letting our cat go outside,” admits Lena. “But it doesn’t mean I don’t think something should be done. There’s obviously an overabundance here.”

However, Randy warns of the potential for a much bigger tragedy, pointing out a twilight evening a few weeks ago, where he witnessed a lone 5-year-old boy across the street yelling at a passing coyote.

“This little guy was endangering himself,” he said. “And no one else was around.”