Keep your cats and other small pets inside at night.

That's the message from one southeast Austin resident after his Ring video captures coyotes wandering around the second story of his condominium.

The man who captured the video says he only bought a Ring camera in order to figure out what was happening after two of his cats suddenly disappeared.

Scott McDougal said for years his condo off Parker Lane used to be a very friendly area for his cats, that is until recently. "One cat disappeared, he wasn't a wonderer, he was an in and out cat, and he just disappeared," said McDougal. It was when another one of his cats disappeared, he began to suspect an unwanted visitor. "It was almost blind, so I knew he didn't wander," said McDougal.

McDougal invested in a ring camera in order to figure out what exactly was happening in the area and it didn't take long for it to pick something up. A coyote managed to not only make its way into his complex but was on the second floor.

This isn't the only time he captured video like that, it happened again a few days later. "It's pretty freighting and it's becoming more frequent," said McDougal.


While he hasn't witnessed a coyote attacking pets in his area he said there is only one reason they would come to the second floor. "I'm sure he was looking for the cats because that's where they hang out," said McDougal.

What concerns McDougal about all this is that fact his complex is surrounded by other complexes and homes, so he has no idea where the coyotes are coming from.

He turned to Nextdoor where he found similar stories to his.

"That's when I learned there was really a problem along east of parker lane where several people had cats disappear or remains found," said McDougal.

This isn't just happening in southeast Austin. FOX 7 was also set video of a coyote approaching the front door from a home in South Austin as well as one in Round Rock.

"Small pets can't be left outside at night," said McDougal.

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, these urban coyotes are the result of cities and communities expanding and developing. Simply trapping and removing them won't stop the issue, instead they urge people to co-exist with them. "They talk about co-existing, well my cats can't co-exist with something that wants to eat it," said McDougal.