Does anyone have any experience of foxes?

[Millys Mum]

My cat lived side by side 4 foxes for 10 years and never had problems. They were fed daily by my neighbour tho so were not starving and desperate.
In the end the foxes got turfed off the patch by feral cats!

[alisonandarchie]

What lovely photos

I am sure I remeber hearing that mange responds well to treatment.

We live near fields and have alot of foxes about. We are often woken up by their screams There are also alot of cats in the area and I have never heard of one being attacked.

[Ela]

I too believe that is one of the reasons.

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

I think in towns and cities where wheelie bins have become the norm, this has made it more difficult for foxes to get access to food so out of desperation, an attaack on a cat would be more likely. 

[Ela]

Please don't get me wrong I adore the foxes and there was no one more pleased than me when hunting was banned. well perhaps many of you were just as pleased too.

But, some do  chase and kill  cats or at least the cats have to be PTS because of their injuries, only last weekend a cat after much vet treatment needed to be gently PTS because a fox had got hold of it. I think I have posted before about a phone call I received one lunch time about a fox running in the middle of a road on a housing estate with a cat in its mouth.

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

DD them fox piccies are adorable but......I thought you were against breeding? 

   It does look like he's being rude but he was just lying on him    honest 

[Bazsmum]

Good Luck with the fox....normally foxes would not take on a cat unless they are ill etc cos cats go for eyes and a blind fox is no good in the wild! 

DD them fox piccies are adorable but......I thought you were against breeding? 

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

They can say they wont PTS but whos to know theyll keep their word ...your not going to know. I wouldnt trust them as far as i could throw them

Not all RSPCA are  , and if it was me phoning them, I would stress that he isn't pts if he is fit enough and healthy enough.  Usually with wildlife, they will treat and release back to the same spot, so Barney could make sure this is the case if they do take him and that she is there when they do.  Looking on the NFSW site, I think it's homeopathic treatment they use for Mange, this may be a better alternative if it works and there's no stress involved as he wouldn't have to be trapped.

[MBll]

but on the condition he isn't pts 

They can say they wont PTS but whos to know theyll keep their word ...your not going to know. I wouldnt trust them as far as i could throw them

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

Ours used to eat anything you gave them.  Mainly raw mince, eggs they love, dog food, any scraps of meat and once a week, they used to have a veggie stew as did the dogs and ferrets     One thing they did go crazy for, but I don't think you'll be going out buying it for them was a donner kebab    When feeding foxes in the wild, I wouldn't give them too much food but enough to supplement their diet so it's not interfering with their natural hunting.  In the wild they would eat grubs, insects, small rodents, and worms etc. and food is pretty much available most of the year, if a fox is looking a little on the skinny side, maybe a little extra would be appreciated.

[barney]

Apart from new born lambs, chickens and pet rabbits what do foxes eat?

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

The national fox welfare society say on their site that they send free medication to homeowners if they contact them so I may well do this tomorrow. Cute photo's by the way.

Good luck with him and I hope he's okay   

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

four little bundles of mischief  they are so cute - what happened to them when they were old enough to leave - they would have been fairly fearless of people which can not have been good if they were returned to the wild - or did you put them through a weaning process?

One was more for humans, he was the one you can see playing with Piper, the other 3 were fantastic with me as I was their mummy but they wouldn't really tolerate other humans.  If anyone came round, they would run up the walls if they were startled    We used to have a local bobby used to come round with colleagues as he was really interested in wildlife and adored the fox cubs, one of the dogs we had at the time was a little over protective and did manage to bite his butt    All the foxes were released onto land where they were to be looked after and fed, Shak I was a little concerned about because of the way he was with us, but he soon got his natural instincts back on release. 

I always wonder if they make good pets

As far as I know you wouldn't be allowed by law to keep them as pets, I'm not even sure I should have had them but their mother was killed by the Cheshire Hunt and the cubs were going to go the same way.  I wouldn't recommend as pets purely because of the way humans are.  I read a book once, a fox had been hand reared and humanised, he ran up to a farmer and was shot       They are gorgeous animals, and I don't regret the time I spent with them..........I have a lot of fond memories but I would rather see them free but safe     One of them that we had used to open the back door by jumping up and down on the handle, if he ever got out, he would scream to get back in again, anyone would think he was being murdered    I used to take them out for a walk in the early hours, all had little collars and leads, if anyone came round the corner, I had 4 bundles jumping into my arms for protection 

[barney]

Well you all seem to be having fun with your foxes maybe I will not worry to much then when I see them playing chase in the garden I wouldn't want to see any harm come to this or any of the other foxes that visit from time to time. The national fox welfare society say on their site that they send free medication to homeowners if they contact them so I may well do this tomorrow. Cute photo's by the way.

[pappilon]

Awww Dawn , what happened to them?

I saw a girl once in Brighton who had a grown up fox with her  I always wonder if they make good pets

[pappilon]

I have been feeding the foxes for many years now and i used to put their food close to my front door and remember seeing my cat piccolo just watching them eatingng sitting literally next to them and no harm was done to her, few months a go i saw the feral cat eating under the car and the fox came at the same time and i watched them eating next to each other and once i saw a young  feral cat chasing the foxes
I am not sure what happens if they are really hungry but i imagine the cats can defend them self!
As DD mentioned may be you can get the RSPCA or a wild animal sanctuary to come and trap him, i am sure if there is a sanctuary for wild animals they will help him and if he is poorly they keep him till he is well again, some times they get to a very bad state      

[blackcat]

four little bundles of mischief  they are so cute - what happened to them when they were old enough to leave - they would have been fairly fearless of people which can not have been good if they were returned to the wild - or did you put them through a weaning process?

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

To be honest, they were little  , they used to wreck everything and keep you awake all night long    Here's a pic of when they were a few weeks old, I'd handreared them from a week old 





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[blackcat]

how adorable is that!

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

Here's a pic of one of the foxes I had with my old dog Piper    They all got on really well and would spend hours playing  



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[blackcat]

I feed the fox over my back fence on the principle that if he is full he won't eat the cats. And someone a few days ago posted a film clip of the fox who has befriended her cat. But he does sound unhappy so if you can get help for him it would be good ...

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

I handreared 4 fox cubs years ago and they were fine with the cat, dogs and ferrets       Mange can't be transferred to cats but as you say, can be transferred to dogs.  There has been supposed instances where foxes have apparently attacked cats but I think if this is true, these are few and far between.  I would say if food is extremely scarce they may take their chance with a cat but I'm still not convinced     When a fox has been seen with a cat in it's mouth, it would be a roadkill or possibly one that's severely injured so I wouldn't worry too much.  I would contact the RSPCA to see if he can be trapped and have his mange treated and then released, but on the condition he isn't pts 

[barney]

Hi, just wondering if any of you guys have any experience of foxes v cats The reason for me asking is threefold (1) last night four of my cats got really excited around 11.30 as a fox decided to get a bit to close to the patio doors, all the outside security lights came on and my cats just went ballistic. (2) tonight my cat Mollie was in the garden around 7pm all the others were indoors, on came the security lights and I saw Mollie and another fox no more than a 2 feet away from one another! I flew outside and called Mollie, fortunately she had the good sense to stand still whilst the fox decided to leg it. This poor fox had mange and was looking rather sad for itself, can this disease be transfered to cats? I have visited the NFSW site who say that it can be transmitted to dogs but does not mention cats. They also state that there has never been a case reported of a fox killing a cat as they have a mutual respect for one another can this be true?