An unwelcomed guest is prowling the Liberty Ridge neighorhood in the south Highlands.

A coyote has been seen by at least three people in the neighborhood in recent weeks. It may be responsible for the disappearance of Bonzai, the beloved Japanese bobtail cat owned by Bill and Katrina Taylor.

The first siting was in November. In the last week or so, Bill Taylor, president of the Renton Chamber of Commerce, saw the coyote strolling through his yard, right behind his fence.

“There is a coyote problem in Liberty Ridge,” he said.

His experience is that a coyote will run off when it smells a human. That wasn’t the case with this coyote. Taylor clapped his hands but the coyote wasn’t fazed.

As Taylor describes it, the coyote looked at him as if to say, “I am looking for lunch. Don’t bother me.”

He doesn’t know if anyone else in his neighborhood has lost a pet.

“Pets mean a lot of folks,” he said.