"I was out there working in my yard and there's a body part there and a little red collar with a bell on it," Belding said. "It was kind of shocking."

What Belding happened upon were the remains of a neighbor's cat that had been torn apart by a hungry coyote. Coyotes have been seen on and off in Los Gatos, especially in the hilly area near Belding's home, but residents say the coyotes are taking over now.

"We've always had coyotes out here—usually just one or two," Shady Lane resident Andy Eshkar said. "But now we have a pack of eight or nine. Every single night they're screeching and making a huge racket."

And making meals out of local animals. Eshkar said a dead deer was found nearby, and several neighborhood cats and dogs have either disappeared or been found in pieces. His wife, Susan Katz, called Santa Clara County Vector Control, who came to Los Gatos to assess the problem. Vector control told the couple that the most effective ways to get rid of unwanted coyotes are shooting them or trapping them. Shooting is obviously undesirable, so catching them with leg traps is the preferred method. But a town ordinance prohibits the use of steel and leg-hold traps. It cites a section of California Fish and Game code that defines the use of those traps.

Mike Phillips, vector control wildlife technician, said the department now uses humane rubber leg traps, but that the creators of the Los Gatos ordinance effectively prohibited those by omission.

"They left out a section of the Fish and Game code which tells all about the body-grip traps county, state, federal or city agencies can utilize," Phillips said. "What they did was they took the state law and actually made it stronger by not putting in that section."

Though he said the city of San Jose is changing a similar ordinance to allow the use of the rubber traps, Assistant Town Manager Pamela Jacobs said Los Gatos officials have no current plans to do so.

"As vector control pursues the issue, we will respond to any advice that they give us," she said. "Right now that's not on the horizon."

Meanwhile, residents say they are scared of the coyotes.

"I don't feel comfortable walking at night now," Westchester resident Jeanne Gardner said.

She, too, found cat body parts on her lawn and has since kept her dog inside at night. She posted signs in her neighborhood to let neighbors know about the problem.

"People still are not keeping their pets in," she said. "Even today I spoke to a woman who said, 'Oh, it's not happening here,' but it's right on her street."

Gardner said she was concerned for the young children on her street. Though rare, Phillips said coyote attacks on people are not impossible. He said a coyote charged at a child in a Saratoga neighborhood about two months ago. The child was able to go indoors quickly and was not hurt. But another one of the animals attacked a man in Morgan Hill several months ago even after the man attempted to startle it and threw his motorcycle helmet at it.

Phillips said coyotes are normally scared off by humans, but are becoming less so.

"They have no natural predator any more," he said. "There's an unlimited food supply for them, our manmade culverts in the creek ... have actually provided them with better harborage. We're not causing pain or a threat to them, so they just look at us as, 'There's something yelling at me, but I'm not afraid of it.' "

To keep the coyotes away, Phillips said, residents should eliminate any potential food sources—seal trash cans, don't leave food out for feral cats, keep pet food in a sealed place or indoors and keep pets inside.

Residents should obviously call 911 if there is an emergency such as an attack, but if residents hear coyotes howling or find animals that may have been killed by them, they should contact vector control personnel at 408.792.5010.

"If they see a pattern of where they're going to or coming from, we can actually target a den if we do go in to trap them," Phillips said.

Belding said he would like to see the coyote population under control soon.

"I think a lot of people just say, 'Oh well, there's coyotes out there,' and they take a cavalier attitude about it," he said. "But I'd hate to see us wait until a child gets taken out or something. I'd like something to be done before that happens."