foxes

[SKA]

Do foxes attack cats? I've seen one lately a BIG one running along on tip toe in the middle of the night right in the middle of the road.

[Eve]

Not very often with fully grown cats I wouldn't have thought unless they got into a confrontation or were disturbed with whatever they're after or just caught.

Maybe if they felt threatened like the cat came near their babies or the cat was dead or injured. Or if the cat went for the fox for territorial reasons.

Maybe smaller cats they may mistake for prey though cats are pretty good at looking after themselves (jumping and climbing which foxes can't) and young kittens shouldn't be out wandering at night anyway.

Saying that one of my aunt's cats was killed by a local dog left to run loose and it nearly got the other cat as well.

[Eve]

Some more info on habits here if you want to deter them from your garden...

http://www.bexley.gov.uk/service/publicprotect ion/foxes.html

[Eve]

Interesting article here though for urban areas...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?x ml=/global/2005/02/06/nfox06.xml

How urban is it where you live? If countryside and more general prey about may not be as much of an issue.

[SKA]

I live in an urban area and there�re loads of takeaways etc around here so food shouldn�t be a problem.
One of my cats got attacked a few months ago and now her tail is paralysed from half way down. A few weeks ago I saw this massive fox for the first time running along, first I thought it was a dog but then I�m pretty sure it�s a fox. Anyway now we try and keep the cats inside overnight.

[soonerzac]

Yes foxes can attack cats if they are starving enough. My suggestion is to either have some one catch and release it or leave some food out. But definitly keep your cats inside for now.

[gelda]

I've been feeding foxes for some years now, a couple of years ago just before Christmas I went up to the woods to feed them I tooted my horn to let them know I was there and 5 of them came out of the wood with a little kitten in tow, naturally I was a bit worried but I needn't have been, I put the food down and the foxes stood back while the kitten had it's fill then fed themselves. This went on for about 10 days and I got a bit worried that the kitten wasn't getting the right diet and it was getting very cold so I rang a friend who runs a cat rescue and she came and picked it up and got it a good home. I hope the foxes didn't miss him too much. I did take some photos of them but don't or rather have forgotten how to post them! I'm just telling you this because these foxes had every opportunity to kill that little kitten but they put his welfare before their own. I have seen a fox with a dead cat in it's mouth but it doesnt mean to say it killed it, if you see a dog with a bone you don't think the dog has killed a cow, sorry to go on but I think foxes get blamed for many things they don't do.

[SKA]

gelda - thats cute I was going to say lets cull them all but wont now!! I'd like to see some pics of that!!

[gelda]

Jenna, you say foxes can't climb, 2 nights ago one of my foxes was sitting about 8ft up a tree waitng for me and a friend of mine often sees a fox on her roof sunning its self. BTW I aggree with the rest of your post. ( I'm now waiting for all the fox haters to have a go at me ! )

[gelda]

I'd love you to see the pics but I haven't got a clue how to post them, there's a site called www.wildlifeonline where I've got a couple of pics under my real name ( Pat )

[madboutcats]

a neighbours cat was attacked and left for dead by what they thought could have been a fox though as a fox has never been seen in our area (town) it was more likely to have been a dog and more likely goaded into attacking a cat, poor charlie didnt make it, hed grown from a very gangly kitten into a magnificant cat. i love foxes i think they are very beautiful creatures.

[shaking]

I have three fox's come every night for a feed, also a badger and a hedgehog, it is absolutely wonderful to watch as they all put the security lights on. Live next to a golf course and have seen deer on there as well, am always ringing the Police to report lampers.

[upsydaisy]

Hi - your foxes sound amazing gelda!! We discovered one in our garden late this afternoon - he is a magnificent looking creature. He was actually very wary of our cats and darted off. However we noticed he has an injured paw, would the SSPCA come out and get him? What would you recommend feeding him? We thought about buying some dog food? x

[upsydaisy]

ps - we live out in the middle of nowhere!

[shaking]

Any butcher will sell you a few bones for a few pence, I buy a bag full every week and freeze them, take a few out at a time, my fox's also eat the left over cat food, chicken bones etc, or any left over meaty dishes.

[Eve]

If he's injured and especially always seems alone then maybe contact a local group for advice.

My parents feed badgers in their garden and one used to come alone limping. They called the local badger group who took her to a vet who reckoned she'd been hit by a car.

Apparently the set reject injured ones so she wouldn't have survived back in the wild and would probably have fallen victim to a predator so she was put to sleep so she wasn't in pain anymore.

Learnt something new today about foxes climbing, maybe it's a good thing for them to avoid the hunts!

[SKA]

aww I saw the pictures, a black kitten with a long tail!!

[Kleiber]

What an amazing thread! I loved your story, gelda. I've always believed that a fox won't attack an adult cat. When we lived in the Surrey suburbs, our cats used to sit in the garden in the evening and ,I swear , have conversations with the foxes. Now that I'm in the middle of nowhere, in Wales, the only problem I have is with foxes getting into my chicken runs - they certainly don't bother the cats. I've never been a great lover of foxes, but I guess it's live and let live! So long as they don't hurt my livestock, I'll tolerate them round here (although I do get annoyed when they poo in my fields and then the dog goes & rolls in it!! What is it with dogs??). Country foxes are so different from town foxes - much more wary of people. There was an occasion though, about 2 yrs ago, when I heard foxes calling quite loudly in the woods across from my house and all my ewes got in a right tizzy - they actually formed a tight circle round their lambs and came as close to the fence by the house as they could.

[SKA]

Kleiber - aw lamb are well cute you got any pictures? me and my sister love seeing them!!

what does a fox call sound like? anyone got any links?

[Panic Button]

Fight between cat and fox? The cat would win

[gelda]

Hi Upsydaisy. Your fox may have hurt it's paw by jumping of a fence or tree my foxes often limp then after a couple of days they are fine but if the paw looks really bad give an animal rescue a ring for advice. As for feeding him I give my foxes raw chicken wings and raw eggs that's as near to their natural diet as possible. NEVER give them cooked bones they will splinter and stick in their insides which will kill them eventually. By all means give him some dog food ( not dry food they can't digest it ) and any other scraps you have, my foxes love sausages!! HTH.