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AIBU?

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Original poster

To help a mangy scrap of fox?

374 replies

HarrietKettleWasHere · 30/03/2017 23:46

I know I know, urban foxes get a lot of bad press. Yes they are naughty when they rip open bin bags and make a mess.

And yet, I think they are beautiful. We live in a block of flats (on the back of a big park) and around about Christmas time I noticed one sloping about at night. Actually we used to have a lot of mice/rats down where the rubbish room is so maybe he was attracted to that. He's beautiful- all rusty and bushy. I know it's a bit naughty but I started slipping him the odd bit of chicken or bit of ham. I would never want to get too close as he should be wary of humans would kill to stroke that gorgeous tail but he knows where I live and he will often trot by about 11pm to see if I'm at my window.

So a few nights ago he started bringing a little friend. I thought he looked a bit odd- like stumpy and mishapen and tonight I got a good look at him and he's all bald-patched and mangy Sad

Poor little scrap! And also it'll probably spread to my beautiful original fox as it's contagious. Can I help him? Are there mange tablets you can put in food? He comes every night pretty much so he would eat it. Would dog tablets work? Obviously I couldn't bathe him or give him drops totally would if I could

Please can I add the foxes are very respectful of the neighbours. They do all their shagging in the park and they can't get into the bins! There are a couple of cats here but they are totally unbothered by them.

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Original poster
HarrietKettleWasHere · 09/05/2017 23:44

Apologies for the crapness of pic!

Scrap himself, round the front of the flats, spotted as I was coming back from the gym.

Five min later he was under the window waiting for his supper Grin

To help a mangy scrap of fox?
OP posts:
HelloPossums · 10/05/2017 00:00

He's lovely, Harriet! :) He looks lovely and healthy - how is he doing ? Sorry, I haven't caught up on the rest of the thread yet!

SleepOhHowIMissYou · 10/05/2017 00:07

Teresa May has announced that she is pro fox hunting and will be putting a vote to repeal the ban on the Tory agenda! I'm aghast!

The hunting ban was the impetus for my Mr B.Liar vote back in the day!

WT(actual)F!!!

HelloPossums · 10/05/2017 00:09

Oh Jeez really? :( Another good reason not to vote Tory then :( I hate the idea of fox-hunting!!

Original poster
HarrietKettleWasHere · 10/05/2017 07:02

Yes. Odious woman Angry

HelloPossums he's still a bit, well, scrappy, but he's better than he was. Nothing wrong with his appetite either Grin

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SoupDragon · 10/05/2017 07:08

Closest fox is about 1foot further down the garden than the spaniel can get (out of shot on the long black lead)

To help a mangy scrap of fox?
bananafish81 · 10/05/2017 08:02

We had some solar powered garden lights

Had being the operative word

As the annual fox family are back and have completely destroyed every single one of them over the last week

We've seen up to 5 foxes at any one time - massive dog fox, vixen and three not very small cubs.

Dig up the garden, get into the bins (had to put double bunjee cords on the lids) and completely annihilated all the lighting we bought

Can't have our bifold windows open on the first floor living room as we nearly had a fox saunter in, sitting bold as brass on the flat roof outside in the middle of the day, sniffing around the crack where it was open ajar.

Kids next door can't play in their garden because it's not safe with foxes wandering around in the middle of the day.

I'd happily send our urban foxes to you all, they're a complete headache.

SistersOfPercy · 10/05/2017 09:36

We live near an inner city wood so have had fox visitors for many years. Love seeing them around, but the mating cries can be a bit annoying around January time.

We used to have a caravan parked on our front lawn and discovered by accident that we had badgers coming in the night to have a roll under it. Intrigued I moved a CCTV camera to point underneath it and went on Badger watch.
I can confirm badgers LOVE peanut butter sandwiches. We ended up with hours of footage of a heavily pregnant mama badger who always had a smaller one with her. I guess the babies were born as she stopped coming and we sold the caravan and concreted the drive. They are still around somewhere though, gorgeous things they are.

Original poster
HarrietKettleWasHere · 10/05/2017 09:45

SoupDragon I'm really jealous of your lovely big garden!

See, I know foxes divide people Sad and I know they are probably pretty disruptive if a family moves into your garden. I still think they have a hard life though, whether they live in towns/cities or the countryside.

I wish I could help all the mangy foxes.

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derxa · 10/05/2017 09:57

This thread is amazing and not in a good way

DailyMaui · 10/05/2017 10:06

I used to live in South London near Tower Bridge and a fox family lived under our shed. The fox cubs were totally adorable and used to gambol about the garden all the time. They did dig up a lot of plants though, the little bastards. But they were such incredibly cute little bastards! I now live in a town outside London and no foxes here - very sad.

We have a studio fox at work. He lives round the back of the scene dock and struts around like he owns the place. I see him if I'm in very early - makes those early starts more than bearable. I love him 😍. You have to zoom right in on the first pic but that concrete ramp is just alongside the south bank. So he's very close to an extremely busy area.

To help a mangy scrap of fox?
To help a mangy scrap of fox?
Mablethorpe · 10/05/2017 10:22

Bastard fox got in and killed all ten of my rescue hens last summer. Only took two to eat so the rest were killed for the sheer hell of it.

Foxes are not welcome in my garden at all, ever.

SoupDragon · 10/05/2017 10:28

Harriet you'll notice only half of it is mown! There are drawbacks. Of course we can't use it all properly because the foxes/badgers have destroyed the fences and the dog escapes.

I can confirm badgers LOVE peanut butter sandwiches

Yes they do :) my parents used to feed their garden badgers every night. Until the garden started to subside and they had to pay thousands to get the sett fenced in and one way doors put on it. They hate seeing them now!!

bananafish81 · 10/05/2017 10:34

Yeah

It's so cute when a brazen urban fox wanders into your house and attacks your sleeping child

www.bbc.co.uk/news/10251349

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21399709

Original poster
HarrietKettleWasHere · 10/05/2017 10:41

Foxes do not kill hens for the 'sheer hell of it'. Explanation of larder-kill upthead.

An animal acting on its instinct will get in a hen house, if it's not secure. My grandparents have kept hens for years. Foxes can't get at them as they've totally Fox-proofed it.

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c3pu · 10/05/2017 11:02

Yeah

It's so cute when a brazen urban fox wanders into your house and attacks your sleeping child

Lets face it, children are far more likely to be mauled by domestic dogs than by a urban fox...

Bigblug · 10/05/2017 11:10

I loves foxes too, until they start mating and make those awful mewling noises! We have a gorgeous mother fox who has her babies in the bushes outside our house every year and get to see beautiful cubs :)

ohgoonthenjustonemore · 10/05/2017 11:13

Still love this thread soooo muchSmile

Original poster
HarrietKettleWasHere · 10/05/2017 11:14

I was genuinely worried I was listening to someone being murdred the first time I heard foxes have sex Shock

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SoupDragon · 10/05/2017 11:44

They make that god awful shrieking noise all year round.

You really shouldn't feed them though. it encourages dependency.

SoupDragon · 10/05/2017 11:45

How would you feel about people feeding the local rat population?

Original poster
HarrietKettleWasHere · 10/05/2017 11:50

I hardly ever see rats anymore. I think the foxes eat them misses point

If I found a rat that was suffering that I could make better by treating it, and then prevent it infecting other rats, I would do it- sorry!

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SoupDragon · 10/05/2017 11:55

I see plenty of rat traps.

It's not about "treating" them, it's about feeding unnecessarily. They rely on it and it creates an unnatural food source. When I was small, urban foxes were fairly rare compared to the hoards of them that are about now. Their only predator is the car.

I suspect you wouldn't be overly pleased if there was a rat infestation in your flat.

derxa · 10/05/2017 11:56

If I found a rat that was suffering that I could make better by treating it, and then prevent it infecting other rats, I would do it- sorry! You're a lost cause Grin

Original poster
HarrietKettleWasHere · 10/05/2017 12:00

But urban foxes are already here because of an unnatural food-source- the rubbish humans leave behind/scavenging from takeaways and bins etc. And they've been pushed out of hundreds of miles of countryside as a result of human development.

In the countryside they'd be hunting rabbits etc. There aren't any here. Most of the food they have access to/consume is already provided by humans.

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