The City of Ottawa has hired trappers to capture coyotes after reports that family pets were being eaten by wild animals in rural outskirts.

Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources estimated that about 20 dogs and cats have gone missing in the Greely area in recent weeks, and suspects coyotes have killed them.

Among them, was Gillian Leyland's Lhasa Apso Kailis, which was attacked at night minutes after being let into the yard of the family's Greely home with another dog two weeks ago.

Leyland said she has now built a cage to protect her other dog and has hired a trapper.

But Gary Fischer, one of three trappers hired by the city, said there have been only two confirmed cases of pets being killed by coyotes in the area and he's not convinced coyotes are to blame for the other disappearances.

"I've seen cats taken right out of a field by a hawk," he said Thursday. "There are other wildlife issues here other than just the coyotes."

He blamed the problem on new housing developments that encroach on wildlife habitat, and said most pet owners have nothing to fear from coyotes.

"They're not sitting in the backyard waiting to attack you. Normal coyote behaviour is much different than that."

He added that he believes the animals responsible for killing some pets may in fact be dog-coyote crosses called coy-dogs, which have less fear of humans than coyotes.

Fischer said the city-hired trappers will have a biologist and a veterinarian examine any animals they capture to determine if they are coy-dogs, and will remove them from the area if they are.

In the meantime, he encouraged pet owners not to leave garbage around their yards.

Doug Thompson, city councillor for Osgoode ward, which covers a rural part of Ottawa where developments overlap with wildlife habitat, said he plans to hold a public information meeting on the coyote issue during the first week in January.