Fox and cat playing together

[Andyvon]

I saw this last night and I'm sure it is very usual. Has anyone else seen or heard of this before?

I go for a six mile walk every night as I'm an insomniac. Last night I was in town nearing home at about 2.30am when I came across a fox and cat on a large grassy mound. The night was warm and the road was quiet and lit by streetlights. The cat and fox had 'frozen' when I appeared and I stopped too about 7 or 8 yards away. After about a minute the two resumed what they were doing. While I watched, the cat started to creep up on the fox who stood watching it getting closer. When the cat was about two feet from the fox, the fox jumped in the air and the cat did the same. They then 'boxed' with their paws for a few seconds and then scampered round and round chasing each other in a circle. After about 10 seconds they stopped and did the whole thing over again. I watched for a few minutes and then walked away while they continued to play.

I told my aunt this today and she said that cats and foxes grow up in the same environment (peoples' gardens etc) so I shouldn't be too surprised. I could also tell that the cat and fox were youngsters so maybe they won't play and associate so closely when they get older. What struck me was how neither animal was concerned by my presence. It's understandable of the cat - but the fox wasn't bothered either! Both animals were having a whale of a time.

Was this an unusual thing to see or is it more common than I think?

[LoftyLottie]

Just called in to say hi to you Andy and ttfn.

Re Black Squirrels

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7839653.stm

See you soon both xx

[LoftyLottie]

PS

http://www.telegraph....irrel-discovered.html

[ttfn]

Good morning Andy - the sand lizzards are most prevalent on Canford Heath in Poole. Unfortunately the local oiks keep setting fire to the heath and conservationists are seriously worried about the devastation this causes to both wild life and their environment. The local fire brigade are regularly having to deal with the problem. Vipers also live happily on the heath and many decades ago one found its way into a cupboard at the local primary school - biting the poor caretaker who tried to remove it. He just suffered terrific bruising to his chest but was otherwise o.k. I hardly frequent the heath at all - imo it doesn't compare well with the nf as it is situated mainly within huge commercial areas of warehouses and retail outlets and some housing. The Forestry Commission put on a display at the annual NF show in Brockenhurst. They have displayed vipers in a 3 foot tall section of concrete sewer pipe just set into the ground with a few leaves in the base. The first time you peer over the edge of the pipe is a little disconcerting (there is no glass or any cover) as you can see the vipers trying to climb the walls and you think you may have put yourself too near. But of course they cannot scale the sides and are also safe from the viewing public. It is all educational and visitors can also see grass snakes and easily identify the difference between the reptiles TBH I think the viper is a beautiful snake - the markings are so distinctive.

Lottie thanks for the black squirrel links - never seen one before. Mind you nor have I seen the black watercress mentioned at the Chelsea Flower show of 2009 - and there are some great watercress beds in the area. Hey ho.

ttfn to you both

[Andyvon]

Yes, thanks for the links Lottie. I don't live far from Hitchen and Letchworth so I suppose it won't be long before we see our first black squirrel here. Although grey squirrels are considered pests and have displaced our reds, we are still fond of them and my wife especially likes them. I see them in the same way as foxes. Everything has a place in nature and a right to exist. I suppose the spread of black squirrels might be seen as some kind of justice as they did exactly the same to our lovely reds. After all, greys have only been here for just over 100 years so they are hardly native.

Hi again ttfn. Why on earth do they set fire to the heath? I can't understand some people now. The Brockenhurst show sounds like an interesting event so we might try to go this year if we are down that way.

Incidentally, I saw three foxes on my walk tonight and I'm sure they are the same ones I see in the same areas most nights. I think they are used to me as they don't take much notice! We also saw plenty of red kites yesterday as we do every day. I thought about the buzzards you see and Lottie's harriers. When we came out of Tescos we counted 6 circling high up. The parents have their young with them at the moment and they spend months teaching them to hunt and find road kill. We also saw a red kite from our lounge yesterday swoop into a neighbour's garden. Their red, white and black colours are stunning and their wing span is astonishing. You don't appreciate it when they are above you but when the birds are low down you realise how large they are. I recently saw a red kite nearly hit by a car as it picked at a dead animal on the road. As it flapped away, I reckoned it's wing span was about the same as the car's windscreen!

My next goal is to see a viper.

Take care.

[wolf63]

Can you actually live on so little sleep on a regular basis?

If I don't get enough sleep I actually become ill - pre-existing mental health problems.

[Andyvon]

Hi wolf,

As I said in an earlier post I only get about 2 or 3 hours a night. I'm never in bed before 5 and always up by about 8.30. Even then I usually just toss and turn and sometimes I get up after 30 or so minutes. Sometimes I don't go to bed at all as I just don't feel tired. However, about once every two weeks I suddenly hit what I call "a wall". It usually happens in the early evening and my brain suddenly stops functioning. I can't focus my eyes, can't think or think of answers, my wife says I keep repeating myself and doing the same thing over and over. I then go to bed and sleep for 14 to 16 hours till about lunchtime next day. Then I don't really sleep again for another couple of weeks.

I've been the same for about 25 years now. I'm sure it can't do much good in the long run. I've seen GPs in the past but they just suggest sleeping pills and that just makes the problem worse as you soon get addicted. Instead, I've learned to fill the hours with hobbies, reading, walking etc. I can't sit and watch TV as my mind never really stops and won't switch off. That's why I just nap when I do go to bed every morning. My wife is different and she sleeps all night long.
I've noticed something similar with my ability to sense temperature. I never feel cold and I only ever wear a short-sleeved shirt at any time of the year - even on an icy winter's morning when it's well below zero. The police used to stop to see if I was OK. I have no trouble getting in a cold bath or shower as I often do. I usually have the windows open in the winter and the only time I know I'm cold is when I find myself getting sleepy and I can't use my fingers to type or turn a page. Then I warm myself up but I never feel cold or shiver as I remember doing when I was a kid. The GP thinks something happened in my brain years ago! Maybe.

I suppose we're all different and this is just me.

[LoftyLottie]

Just caught you on here again Andy.

Had an amusing time today. The dog was in the garden with her favourite toy, a squeaky dragon!! Then we heard some similar squeaking from up in the sky and the dog was really confused!! It was a lapwing, something I haven't seen in our fields for years. One solitary lapwing and it obviously thought it had found a mate in Meggie (the dog) or her squeaky. It flew round and round and kept zooming in close to her. It stayed around for a couple of hours and came really close. In fact I hadn't seen one so close up before. It gave up in the end!

[wolf63]

Yes - we are all different.

Being Scottish I can see the positive side of your situation - you could have two full time jobs.

When I had a dog I used to head down to the park during the night with him. It was so calm and peaceful. The cats that I have now are not so keen - and they would not be much protection for me against the weirdos that are around.

I am off to bed - I will sleep for a couple of hours and either wake up on my own or be wakened by a 'starving' tom cat - they have also been known to use my bed as part of a race track. They are siblings and are forever taunting each other or fighting.

Sweet dreams

Susan

[LoftyLottie]

Hi Susan,

My cat is a real pest at night running about all over us and using us as a trampoline. I am not a very good sleeper either. I go to bed fall straight to sleep and then usually wake up after just a couple of hours. I would love to just go to bed one night and wake up in the morning feeling refreshed.

x

[Andyvon]

Hi Susan and Lottie,

Poor lapwing Lottie! I hope he/she found more luck elsewhere and wasn't too disappointed! I'm pleased you saw a lapwing though. Hopefully they are one of the species that are starting to make a comeback and I hope yuo start to see more.

I did used to have two jobs when I was younger Susan. Although the mind is willing the body starts to protest a little in middle age. In the mid-80s I left my full-time day job in graphics and started my own chauffeur and courier company. Both sides of the business worked 24 hours and I did all my own maintenance on 17 vehicles as well as driving and dealing with staff and customers. I just couldn't have done that if I had needed 8 hours sleep a night. With weekend work and an average of 4 Friday funerals and 10 Saturday weddings I would often wake on Thursday and not sleep again until Sunday!
Looking back I should have employed a mechanic but working on vehicles was my escape from the business and the VAT inspector. I worked like that for 10 years. Then I had chest problems. I also smoked 100 Camel a day and hardly ate. The doctors said my heart was warning me to stop and if I didn't I would'nt see 40. I was 34 at the time and scared! I lasted another 2 years and then sold up, stopped smoking and started eating. I'm 48 now so I did something right. I've thought about a job but I don't need to, I have so much I do, and I don't want to die early.

I know what you mean about the weirdos. I usually see the drunks on Friday and Saturday nights when they occasionally lurch up to me - always two or more. I'm a 6ft 5" man and I'm not intimidated and can face them down. They always melt away and I've never had problems but I don't enjoy going out then. With clubs closing later and later I've started to put my walks off till about 5am to avoid them.

Sorry you lost your dog but your cats sound great fun.

Take care Lottie and Susan. Andrew

[Andyvon]

Hi again Lottie, ttfn and Susan if you are still reading the posts.

Well, what a beautiful morning! I've just got back from my walk and this morning is probably the best daybreak of the year. The air is still and cool and the eastern sky was a palette of pastel orange, red and pink. The sky is cloudless and Jupiter is shining brilliantly in the southeast. There is a low mist over all the fields and it looks like cotton or candyfloss. I saw 5 foxes, plenty of hedgehogs and lots of rabbits. The dawn chorus was especially sweet this morning and it seems almost as if the birds appreciate the beauty too. There are so many blackbirds hopping around at the moment.

It's sobering to think that roads I have just been walking down the centre of will be jammed with traffic in a few hours. All the animals would have gone and all anyone travelling te same roads will see is the rear of the cars in front. They'll hear no birds but only the roar of traffic and whatever is booming out of their car's speakers.

What a shame they miss all that's out there now. Still, I'll be one of them at about 9.30 as my wife wants to go to Argos. Then we are spending the day in the Chilterns with a picnic, lots of tea, binoculars and some National Geographics.

Hope to speak again soon. Andrew

[ttfn]

Good morning/night (depending upon your sleep pattern!) Have been off line for a few days R&R with my sister but enjoyed catching up on this thread. Andy - my sister has had to duck down (no pun intended) out of the flightpath of a buzzard leaving its roost. They do need a bit of a run-up to gain some height. SHe was amazed by its size at what was very nearly her head height. I saw 2 magpies together on the same nut feeder this afternoon - first time for that! Suspected there was more than one of them calling in daily but have now been able to differentiate between their markings so will watch their habits with even more interest. Earlier in the week sis was going down the drive in her car when she saw to her great dismay a woodpecker on its back with one wing pointed to the skies. She was just getting out of the car to remove the body when it suddenly blinked, righted itself and hopped off into the shrubbery. She looked for it in vain. She thought it might have been a fledging that had got itself confused - we will probably never know. Who needs HD tv? ttfn

[wolf63]

I was walking the dog around the local park (called the Inch) some years ago. It was during the night and it was totally dark.

There was an incredibly loud noise and the dog just looked at each other. I thought that it was an airplane crashing or something equally stupid. It was two swans taking off from the pond. The were like two jumbo jets.

My cat has an interest in ornithology - he has been sitting on the high bathroom shelf trying to reduce the pigeon population. Alas he is an indoor cat and will just have to try and kill them by mind control. His chirping and cheeping woke up both his sister and myself.

Enjoy your Sunday folks.

[ttfn]

Good morning Susan - I wouldn't want to be in the way of swans taking off either! There is nothing so mindful as a cat's stare - one of these days it could just happen. Have a pleasant Sunday too - I am off to try and get some sleep now. ttfn