Just going by the one picture...that looks like an average cat in terms of the pelt. (No offense intended, my first one was just about the same.) Before springing for a full body mount, I would wait until you get a real "looker" if it was me. If you are anywhere in the south half of the state, you can get another one next year. IMO, there are too many of these things and I would favor increasing the take every year. I would look to tan that one, as it is cool to have those pelts to look at. Congrats on the nice catch!
Oh...you said you are trying for coyotes and snagged the cat...I have done exactly that too. There is NO BETTER coyote set than one that had a cat in it IMO. I would reset that place pronto and I might even add a second trap 5 feet away or so too. As a couple of years ago we caught a cat, reset it and snagged a coyote that night...and the coyote had apparently been traveling with one or more other yotes as the snow surrounding the set was COVERED in coyote tracks just outside the catch circle. I took it from the sign present that once Wile E. Coyote #1 got snapped that his partner(s) did not leave the area immediately and would have been caught themselves if I had another trap or two in the immediate area as just about every square millimeter had a coyote track in it for the surrounding 15 feet. Good luck!
