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Original poster

There's a fox in my house..and it seems quite comfy!

69 replies

maeb · 21/05/2019 07:42

So there we were on Saturday having a tea break from the DIY in the front room, when I noticed in the corner of my eye something garishly reddy orange...it was a FOX! In my house! It had come through the back doors, through the kitchen, and was walking through the dining room toward us...not frightened, not shy, just kind of popping in for a chat stylee.

When we jumped up it didn't flinch. When I went to shoo it out, it wasn't too bothered. After it left (in it's own time) it just sat outside on the patio staring at us, slowly inching closer to the doors for another attempt. This happened again on Sunday.

I actually quite like foxes, and this one is rather sweet with half a tail, but I don't want it in my house and I'd also like to leave doors open without fear of a fox stinking up the joint or worse trying to eat someone. Wink

The issue is our NDN is a friend to the local wildlife. She feeds the foxes and badgers (and crows and rats) with cat food (leaving it strewn over her garden Shock) as well as the pigeons and 'stray' cats (even if they're wearing collars and have big well fed tums).

A few weeks ago I thought I was hallucinating as I saw the broken tail fox casually walk into her kitchen through the back door. But obviously I was right.

In the past I've asked her nicely if she would she stop feeding the pigeons (gnarly rock/feral pigeons) as they perch on our flat roof and shit on our windows waiting for her to appear but she won't as she thinks she's helping wildlife. Although she said she was leaving out more food for the crows as they would chase the pigeons Hmm. Since then it's gone from 2/3 flying rats to about 12, all hanging around waiting for the food.

Is there any amicable/non-amicable way to successfully resolve this and curb her nurturey nature? I don't want to upset her but she obviously doesn't care about us.

FYI she's 50ish and lives with her elderly mum in the same house she grew up in with about 6 cats so I'm thinking we don't have a chance.

Any advice appreciated!

OP posts:
HundredMilesAnHour · 21/05/2019 19:11

A fox with no fear of humans my first thought was rabies tbh.

No, it's not rabies. The poor fox most likely has toxoplasmosis (a parasitic disease usually caught from the poo of infected cats or from infected meat) which can cause brain damage. A common indicator of this is when foxes aren't scared of humans. And no, you won't catch it from them before anyone starts freaking out. Foxes are victims of toxo but not carriers.

They do carry fleas, and in London they usually get mange, which is a distressing condition caused by a mite in the skin like scabies....
I don't believe it can be successfully treated without a prescription drug. Very annoyingly there are people offering a homeopathic remedy, being a small vial of purified water which of course has no effect.

This is wrong. Mange IS treatable with homeopathic remedies but appears to be more successful when 40% or less of the fox is visibly covered by mange. More than 40% and a fox needs more conventional medication but this is obviously difficult when they are in the wild. Capturing them can be quite stressful for the animal. I have worked at The Fox Project for several years and mange is one of the most common reasons we get patients in our hospital - we treat the most serious cases and they recover and are eventually released back where they were found. If anyone has a visiting fox suffering from mange and wish to help, please call The Fox Project for advice or visit their website for instructions on how you can help treat them homeopathically. Btw mange is present across the UK, it isn't London specific.

they are aggressive quickly

No they aren't. Please stop spreading ignorance. A healthy fox will be way more scared of you than you are of it. They will try to get away from you and will only bite as a last resort.

OP this fox who visited you is clearly ill. Please call either the RSPCA or The Fox Project and they will be able to tell you which charity operates in your area. If the fox returns, they may consider a cage trap so they fox can be caught and checked over.

I don't think there's much you can do about your neighbour unfortunately. You can try talking to her but there seems to be an element of craziness in some animal loving ladies. Wink

HundredMilesAnHour · 21/05/2019 19:14

don't phone RSPCA, they would more than likely kill it

No, the RSPCA don't kill foxes. It's fine to call them. However, some pest controllers do kill foxes (and use illegal methods to do it) so please don't go down that route.

PigletJohn · 21/05/2019 20:15

Quite possibly you can treat an animal with drops of purified water, but I don't believe you have good evidence that purified water is more effective at curing mange, than not giving them drops of purified water.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Other pets & animals
Bodicea · 21/05/2019 20:50

Yep in response to the rspca comments. They are terrible. After hearing one too many negative stories about them and then them refusing to come and rescue an escaped and quite stressed out bird of prey in my garden I have stopped donating to them.

LynetteScavo · 21/05/2019 20:56

OP - is your neighbour a teacher and are you in the Midlands?

I

Bookworm4 · 21/05/2019 20:58

foxproject.org.uk/
Contact these people if you're concerned about the fox, they should be wary of people and if not it can be a sign of illness/injury.

Fucksandflowers · 21/05/2019 21:17

I don’t think there is anything you can realistically do apart from accept that we share the world with other animals, clean up any poo and get on with life.
She isn’t going to change her ways.

Re the fox, people like your neighbour make me really cross.
She is the reason the fox is confident and bolshy.
That’s all fine, until the fox walks up to the wrong person who happens to hate foxes and pest control is called or until the fox nips someone in an attempt to persuade them to provide food and most likely, the outcome will be the same. Dead fox.

Wild animals should be left wild.
Taming wild animals results in their death in the end.

Openupyourmind · 21/05/2019 21:20

RSPCA are completely crap when you phone them about a distressed animal - unless you can get a tv crew involved - they seem keen on the publicity -useless organisation.

Fucksandflowers · 21/05/2019 21:22

A healthy fox will be way more scared of you than you are of it. They will try to get away from you and will only bite as a last resort

Not true!

In urban areas where foxes have lost their natural fear of people thanks to misguided individuals feeding them they are very confident, self assured animals.

I wouldn’t put it past it then to try and predate on a newborn, they are carnivores after all and certainly over here, the foxes are a decent size, Springer spaniel sized.

I wouldn’t past it then to nip a person in an attempt to gain food either if the grub wasn’t forthcoming.

HundredMilesAnHour · 21/05/2019 21:32

Not true! In urban areas where foxes have lost their natural fear of people thanks to misguided individuals feeding them they are very confident, self assured animals.
I wouldn’t put it past it then to try and predate on a newborn, they are carnivores after all and certainly over here, the foxes are a decent size, Springer spaniel sized.
I wouldn’t past it then to nip a person in an attempt to gain food either if the grub wasn’t forthcoming.

This really is utter bullshit. Please stop with the scare-mongering. The ignorance demonstrated on this thread by some posters is just dreadful.

Fucksandflowers · 21/05/2019 21:48
Hmm My DB lives in London, ask him and anyone else who lives in London what foxes are like and they will tell you they are used to people, no fear whatsoever and think nothing of entering peoples houses.

There is a family of foxes very close to my house, my DH passes them most nights on his way home from work.
They are not one bit frightened of him.

I have seen the foxes myself, they are slightly smaller than my dog (border collie).
I have often heard people claim they are cat sized, maybe in the countryside but every fox I’ve ever seen has been considerably bigger than a cat.

As a predatory animal, of course it is possible they would predate on newborns.
To think otherwise is crazy.

And if any animal is taught to associate people with food then it’s very possible they will start to harass in the expectation of food if hungry.
Again, to think otherwise is crazy,

I am not in any way a fox hater, I love wildlife and animals actually.
I am very against feeding/taming wild animals because ultimately it leads to their death.

yellowbelliedlilylivered · 21/05/2019 21:53

Most foxes without a fear of humans are suffering from a neurological condition and need treatment. They're not dangerous but at risk of endangering themselves. Search The Fox Man on Facebook if you're anywhere in the North and I'm sure he'll help you out!

Fucksandflowers · 21/05/2019 21:59

Most foxes without a fear of humans are suffering from a neurological condition and need treatment

The whole family that live near me? Cubs and all?

Don’t get me wrong, I like foxes.
But I do think a lot of information about out there, on both sides, is very wrong.

Foxes are very intelligent, they catch on quick that people provide food and don’t appear to be a threat..

Indeed, in Russia they did an experiment with foxes to domesticate them.
They achieved it unbelievably quickly.

I don’t think most ‘friendly’ foxes are ill at all.

Original poster
maeb · 21/05/2019 22:50

Thanks for all the advice. I've not been able to check in as I've been travelling but appreciate itSmile

Rocknhippy - that's good to know. I'll speak to the council/Environment bods.

The Piss-tol maybe too messy.

Notwiththeprogramme I would love to borrow your sausage dog puppy but he may go missing in the post when I send him back!Grin

Pigletjohn, she told me she puts homeopathic remedies in bowls of water for the animals...Confused

Fucksandflowers I don't understand people who can't just appreciate nature without interfering with it.

The fox is healthy looking except for one feature...it's only got one ear! It's tail is fine...I changed the identifying feature in case NDN was on here. Hopefully she's too busy breastfeeding the badgers to read this bokes

We live in a big city and see foxes all the time. They're not scared of humans at all.

OP posts:
Cherrysoup · 21/05/2019 23:09

Fox likely to have toxoplasmosis which removes their fear of humans and makes them appear very friendly. The National fox Welfare group will come and trap it if you ask, particularly if you think it may be affected.

Get the Nerf water pistol gun thing to get rid of unwanted birds/cats, your neighbour is very misguided feeding the wildlife and other people’s cats. It would piss me right off.

Bravelurker · 22/05/2019 02:10

Op, you are so funny, I have laughed at everything you have said. Brilliant.

OkPedro · 22/05/2019 02:38

We have foxes where I live, inner city and they have no fear of humans. A few years back before we had Wheelie bins, the foxes would rip the bin bags apart while we were standing beside them. I woke one night as one was eating out of a bin bag. It stared at me and didn’t move. I even threw a shoe at it Grin it didn’t run away or flinch

Boffing · 22/05/2019 03:36

I wouldn't trust a fox and when my children were little I didn't leave the door open for that reason. To do would be bonkers.

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