ONLY ON ABC7NEWS.COM: San Francisco pet owners on edge after another coyote attack

SAN FRANCISCO -- Pet owners in San Francisco are feeling nervous after another coyote attack. This week a coyote pounced on a cat, killing it on a patio at the Park Merced apartments.

It's come to a point where if you have a small dog or cat in San Francisco, do not take their safety for granted.

"Keep your animals in," said Randy Buckland.

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He's still in shock after the loss of his dear cat, Hunk. Two nights ago, a coyote attacked on his back doorstep.

"I saw the coyote and the cat right out here in the middle," he said. "The cat was fighting still him."

The 6-year-old feline had a reputation as the nicest cat in the neighborhood.

Buckland shared Hunk with his good friend, Mark Ward, who was barely consolable even Thursday, as he described chasing the coyote with the cat still in its jaws.

"So I ran after him, I ran after the coyote even knowing that I could be hurt at the same time, too, but I just wanted my animal back," he said through tears.

Their story is the latest in what has become an ongoing urban narrative about coyotes.

There have been more than 70 sightings this year alone, which is the most on record.

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There were so many that last March San Francisco's Board of Supervisors held a hearing while looking for solutions to the problem.

"What will it take, two years, three years?" asked San Francisco resident Jeff Marchi. "How many are they breeding a year?"

It has become a very real threat to San Francisco pet owners who do say they're aware of what's happening, but seeing and losing is believing.

"You have kids here in this community," said Ward. "So hello, figure something out. Yeah I do think it's a problem."

As the afternoon ended, Buckland and Ward went looking through a pet cemetery in search of a place to memorialize Hunk.