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Original poster

Foxes

264 replies

LatteLady · 19/01/2013 23:08

Just before I went out to supper tonight, found my next door neighbour in tears coming up her front path... her cat had been savaged by foxes. From the sounds of it, Ralph a sleek cream cat with a ginger tinge will need to be put down as the fox has ripped open his under belly.

This is the third incident in our area over the last week, another lady was walking her dog and had to get between the fox and her dog and then got attacked too.

Am I unreasonable to think that there should be a method of culling this urban menace?

OP posts:
Montybojangles · 20/01/2013 09:25

Used to live in north London. Had one big, grumpy Tom cat. Foxes often used to come through the garden at night. Watched one attack him once...it soon learnt a lesson- don't mess with a big grumpy Tom. If it had been my other scaredy cat though it would have been a very different ending Sad

redexpat · 20/01/2013 09:25

I believe you. YANBU.

loveschocolate · 20/01/2013 09:26

They can be really aggressive , particularly if their cubs are about. We had one growling in the garden and threatening to attack a person yesterday as it's cub was nearby. Not surprised domestic pets are being attacked and suspect won't be too long before a child is injured.

Cantbelieveitsnotbutter · 20/01/2013 09:29

Oh gosh how awful. Poor kitty
It's very rare but it does happen.
My cat and fox had a stand off on my drive recently I was shitting it. Luckily the fox ran off.

Loquace · 20/01/2013 09:39

won't be too long before a child is injured

Didn't that already happen? A year or so ago, no? A pair of twins got scratched and bitten in bed or something.

I live in the middle of the Italian countryside and have seen exactly ONE fox in 9 years. And that one was dead. Chicken owners are more afriad of these evil buggers than foxes these days.

Have all the foxes moved into British towns or are there still good numbers in the countryside ?

inde · 20/01/2013 09:53

Will foxes kill my cat :-www.sutton.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=

This is very rare; a survey in north-west Bristol, where foxes were particularly common, showed that they had killed 0.7% of the cats each year, and these were predominantly young kittens. This suggests that your cat is far more likely to be run over, stray or die from a variety of other causes.

inde · 20/01/2013 09:55

I messed the link up it should have been www.sutton.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=11504

FogClearing · 20/01/2013 10:12

Peter Andre loves a fox, he needs a new angle for his show.

local Fox chased my dd and I suspect it is the same one who tries to get in the catflap after the cat.

Groovee · 20/01/2013 10:25

I felt threatened by a fox too. My neighbour told me her eldest dd was chased home from the corner by a fox. We reckon we have a family living in the trees nearby and some are braver than others :-(

They regularly tried to get our rabbit but the hutch was fox proof. Then one night a guinea pig went missing further along the street and we saw the fox with something which looked like a guinea pig :-(

andtheycalleditbunnylove · 20/01/2013 10:55

foxes are cheeky. they will come into your house to get your rabbits. they rip the heads off the rabbits. they don't want the rabbits for food, they leave all the remains behind, they just like to kill. not my rabbits, by the way, other people's.

they'll do it to babies too, if they can. but so would your dog and any passing dog, so think on it.

i don't mind the local fox when its strolling past or looking down from the top of a wall. i don't like it so much when it comes up to the back door to try to find a way in, the rabbit-murdering bastard.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 20/01/2013 11:00

"Have all the foxes moved into British towns or are there still good numbers in the countryside ?"

They haven't moved into the towns as such but, because the food supply is better where you have lots of dustbins, small pets, litter from takeaways and stupid idiots that actually feed the buggers ... Hmm... their urban population is exploding unchecked and they are not timid in the slightest. Rural foxes don't have the same access to food and they are generally more timid.

Councils will send people out if you have problems with rats and mice. Foxes are not on the list.

Loquace · 20/01/2013 11:20

stupid idiots that actually feed the buggers

Won't that "unlearn" them their natural skills and make them dependant on humans...who have a tendency to get bored or got off creatures rapidly when they show their not so cute wild nature ? Leaving foxes vulnerable to lost skills, hunger etc.

Punkatheart · 20/01/2013 12:06

OK. I am a conservationist (wolves) and I work with a number of scientists, anthropologists and biologists.

Foxes are not evil. They kill to eat and the reason why they may kill and not take the bodies is two-fold:

They react to species-specific behaviour (new phrase for instinct) when animals (such as chickens in a coop) make a noise. They kill.

They often bury the bodies - a cache - so that they can return to eat.

They very rarely attack anyone unless threatened...stories (like this fiction attempt from our OP) are ridiculous.

Foxes are not considered vermin but yes, if you feed them their populations will grow. So will the rat population.

I have chickens. It is MY responsibility to keep them safe and I am amazed how many people say 'Oh the fox got my chickens - I must have forgotten to put them to bed last night.'

How to deter a fox:

Get a male to pee around the garden - it has to be a male, dear feminists and yes, it annoys me too! This effectively scent-marks the garden.

Get a dog. They really don't like coming in a garden with a dog.

Get a sonic Foxwatch device. Not proven but I have two and have seen foxes avoiding it.

Never shoot a fox. Another will simply move into their territory...very quickly.

Foxes are not the devil and I really get tired of people with their hysteria. If there genuinely is a problem - not hearsay - then there are people who can help. I think a company called Fox Solutions are good.

Punkatheart · 20/01/2013 12:13

Oh and people use all sorts of emotive language about wolves too. I actually had a chat about it to the Arctic wolf who was sniffing my bottom and licking my shoes some time ago. He looked hurt.

These are animals. People are a lot more brutal/evil/sly.

maddening · 20/01/2013 12:32

My parents livw rurally and now their cat is getting old she keeps him in at night - in the night you can hear lots of foxes - I think there must be quite a few living close.

But they should be protected - our wildlife is v important and should be preserved - we need to learn to live with them. Also in this weather they will get more brave - maybe put food out for them?

Longdistance · 20/01/2013 12:46

I believe you too.

We used to live in a very large town, north of London, and where we lived, there were lots of 'urban' foxes. They would be out during the day Shock I kid you not. My db took a photo of an old mangey fox roaming in a huge back garden.

My cat went missing, so I don't know if they had him Sad

I'm with you on the cull.

MrsTomHardy · 20/01/2013 12:48

I have a problem with foxes here too.
I too have dogs, chickens and cats.

The foxes are not bothered by my 2 dogs Sad

A few years ago one of my cats was found in pieces under a neighbours caravan (tail and head not attached, body all mangled) Sad

The foxes live across the road in the local allotments.....occasionally you can see them during the day wandering around the school field!

Original poster
LatteLady · 20/01/2013 12:52

Just to let you know, Ralph had to be put down... injuries he sustained were just too much. The family are really upset as he was a much loved pet.

The vet also confirmed that this was not the first or only case he had seen and that in our area it is sadly becoming much more common. :(

OP posts:
andtheycalleditbunnylove · 20/01/2013 12:55

punkatheart: I am a conservationist (wolves)
fucking hell. i always knew there was something about you.

i still don't like foxes though.

Bluestocking · 20/01/2013 12:57

See, you lot? All this fox-phobia is just stupid. And they do not kill cats.

Dawndonna · 20/01/2013 13:01

I'm rural. I have a tiny (Cavalier King Charles) dog that chases off foxes.

StatisticallyChallenged · 20/01/2013 13:01

Such a shame LatteLady.

LaurieBlueBell · 20/01/2013 13:04

We have a fox that we feed. It comes to our garden gate at around 6pm every night and waits for me. I take out some eggs and any left over meat. It is very timid but knows me so will come close.
Several years ago we had a young cub that used to come and eat from my hand . We had several cats at that time. I would often see the cub playing in the garden with the cats if I looked out late at night.

Punkatheart · 20/01/2013 13:22

That would be the smell of wolves, andtheycalled.

www.ukwolf.org

Certainly an emotive subject and interesting (from an anthropological point of view) - the words that are used for Mr Fox..he is always sly, cunning, stealthy. A friend of mine, in a deep discussion, blurted out 'Well they are ginger!'

Not the best concluding statement.

Punkatheart · 20/01/2013 13:23

Wolfy apologies:

www.ukwolf.org