Oh, so sorry to hear about your cat. :( For me it was a cocker spaniel that I left in the fenced-in back yard for only one night because I had to care for a friend in an emergency and stay with her at the hospital. I didn't have time to make arrangements for them. I thought it would be ok, but after dealing with my friend almost dying and coming home to find my other friend opened up like a can of sardines in the backyard, while my other smaller dogs had to watch the ordeal in fear, it was almost more than I could bear. I could just visualize the bigger dog noticing the danger and venturing off the back porch to warn and protect the smaller dogs and he was then attacked.
You remember back in the day they use to report about strange cow mutilations and people would wonder if aliens were involved? Well, all I can say is that coyotes can clean the bones of their prey almost as well. Not something you want young kids to come across for sure. But yeah, cats go missing very easily and people just seem unaware of the dangers roaming around their homes because no one really reports it. I'm sad to say that even the dog pounds that pick up cats, dump them out near the creek nearby because they don't have the money to euthanize them all. They become another food source for all the coyotes.