Mysterious animal targeting League City pets?

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- League City residents are concerned about a predator on the loose they believe is behind the disappearance of several family pets.

While some residents say they've seen and heard coyotes, others say that's not what to blame.

"Thomas, I don't know where he went. Turned around and he was gone," resident Jennifer Lewis said of her missing cat.

Lewis misses him and believes her other two cats notice him missing too.

"He was very, very shy around people and never meowed. It was just open his mouth and nothing came out, but when he'd see you he'd come running up to you as fast as he could," she said.

There's lots of places a catnapper could hide around Marina Del Sol. Lewis believes it was a coyote and says her husband saw it.

"He really thought it was a wolf because he said it was really, really big," she said.

Others say they've heard it.

"You can hear them at night about 8:30 or 9 at night they run in packs and you can hear them wooooo," pet owner Gina Dominique said.

Karen Murchison says she's never heard a coyote.

"I have to disagree with that," she said. "I believe that we need to be looking up and I think that's where our petnappers are coming from."

Murchison believes it's a large bird she's had personal experiences with while walking Maurice.

"At first it was like, 'Oh ha, ha, ha' and then I was like, 'Oh my gosh. This bird is actually going to take my dog,' and so I went running and screaming," she said.

The city says the calls they've received involve coyotes.

"At this point, there have been several animals that have come up missing so we do have our officers consulting with the animal tracker that's on our police force to figure out what steps they need to take and go look for that animal," League City Director of Communications Kristi Wyatt said.

Whatever it is, pet owners are keeping a closer eye on their furry family members.

"It's terrible. We have to watch our dog, we keep him on a leash," Murchison said.

"Now we have our other two cats and we are watching out for them because they like to come and go too," Lewis said.

The city's animal control department says it will not respond to calls involving wildlife but if a wild animal does become a serious threat, it will get involved.

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