Las Vegas is famed for being a city of strange and exotic sights, with a particularly bizarre spectacle involving a cat and coyote unfolding on its streets last week.
Allison May was driving through Henderson, a suburb of Sin City, when she spotted the orange feline strutting down a darkened street alongside one of the wild dogs.
Coyotes see cats as a food source, with May intrigued by the rare sight of a prey animal apparently socializing with a would-be predator.
‘Out of nowhere, they just popped up,’ she told FOX5. ‘From what I thought, I thought they were hanging out.’
May pulled out her phone to capture the strange moment. The video shows the orange cat following the coyote up the street and out of frame.
She said she was keeping an eye on the cat to make sure it was safe but that it was ‘keeping the situation in control.’
Sadly, it’s unlikely that the cat and coyote have formed an unusual cross-species friendship, according to the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
Doug Nielsen thinks the orange cat was protecting its territory – perhaps somewhat foolishly.
An orange cat and coyote are filmed walking down a street in Las Vegas together
The feline and wild dog appear to be enjoying an unlikely friendship – but one expert thinks the cat is actually stressed and trying to defend its territory
‘I saw the video, and I just thought that is one angry cat,’ he told FOX5.
Friendship between a wild predator and a house cat, ‘only exists in a make believe world,’ he said.
He explained that the cat’s arched back and fluffed fur looked like a defensive posture.
The coyote likely wasn’t attacking because it was young, Neilsen added.
‘It’s just kind of learning its way in the world and hasn’t figured that out yet,’ he said.
The coyote was ‘probably just as bewildered about that cat as we are.’
May believes that the cat and coyote ended up going their separate ways without any blood being spilled.
People who saw the video on Instagram took the opportunity to make jokes about the remarkable duo.
‘That cat come from northtown it ain’t scared,’ one commenter wrote, in reference to a sketchier neighborhood of Sin City.
‘It’s an orange cat?? yea that cat probably run that area,’ said another, joking about the myth that ginger kitties have more boisterous, confident personalities.
‘Cat is part of the HOA,’ chimed in a third.
Neilsen emphasized the video is not an indication that coyotes and cats or other pets are inclined to be friends.
Pet owners should keep their guard up and never let their animals wander around unsupervised in areas populated by coyotes, he said.
