My folks are out in Arizona, in the northern “high desert” area, and there are bobcats and cougars all over the place. They’ll walk right into the subdivisions at night to find water (and grab any loose housepets).
There was a lady from California that moved in and she had “outdoor cats” that she let roam around. They disappeared very quickly and I don’t think anyone had the heart to tell her what happened.
They seem, mostly, to be talking about eastern coyotes on this thread. I have read coyotes in that part of the country have interbred with wolves at some point and carry those genes. Not so with western coyotes.