To help a mangy scrap of fox?

[HarrietKettleWasHere]

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

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.

Lovely to read this! Having lived for years in deepest hunting g country, it's great that foxes are respected somewhere.
Apparently our local foxes are capable of carrying off a large calf and fully deserve being chased and killed by a pack of dogs....They enjoy the run it seems. The local hunt gets round the rules by having a man with a hawk, as its legal to use dogs to "flush out" game for them.

So many lovely people on this thread, it's brought tears to my eyes. Please keep us updated about your foxes other pics if you can

Aww, OP, this is a lovely thread, and makes a great change from all the people who want to remove them from cities.

We have a fox den in the back garden, but sadly it's not been used for a couple of years. Loved watching the cubs growing up

Nothing to add, but this is a lovely thread. It's reassuring that there are still lots of compassionate people around.
I hope you manage to successfully treat the fox OP.

No idea what's happened to MN, but I'll be the first to say I hate foxes and would be criss if my neighbours were feeding them. Even if you "love" them and think them magnificent, scrounging in cities and being stealth medicated for mange isn't exactly a majestic life, is it?

Gosh we throw food out for the foxes and badgers every night. We are semi rural and to be honest it's a win win as they don't dig up the lawn or rip the bin bags.

We also took in a stray cat at Christmas she was a beauty but unfortunately very ill with a septic lung and we had to have her put down. But she had 5 weeks of s loving family and we were holding her at the end.

We now feed another stray cat and he sleeps in a basket in our porch. It's taken ages for him to let us stroke him and now he does. He had a chicken thigh shared with the dog on s daily basis.

Good for you op.

pluck nothing has happened to mumsnet? I have been here 10 years and we are very much an animal loving crew.

OP what a lovely person you are

Do you have a 'majestic' life, Pluck?

Better hope no-one decides it's not worth anything, if not.

Well done, OP. Wish there were more people like you in the world.

My DP once raised a couple of starlings whose mum had abandoned the nest. He fledged them and everything. The day he released them, he was just telling his neighbour they'd gone when they landed on his shoulders for the last time and then flew away forever. Like they were saying goodbye

My DD still remembers being in London and we walked past a gated small park near the Embankment I think it was...when in the moonlight, like in a poem, out came an urban fox and sauntered past the gate, just epic. I did not know foxes could strut

A Fox carrying off a calf? Never gonna happen. The calf, even at birth would be too big, awkward and heavy. It's a Fox, not a timberwolf.
Good for you tho OP, shared kindness is very necessary. If you need some weedkiller for your flower face, I'd recommend verdone.

My teen dd spent 20 minutes blowing on a bugs wings yesterday. He had fallen into the dogs water bowl. She managed to dry them out very carefully and it flew off.

Mum what a great man your dh is. lovely thread

Oh Pluck - there have been so many fox hating threads on Mumsnet with some really vitriolic comments. I've been almost too scared to stand up to some of the more extreme fox haters in the past.

Could you not just let those of us who love foxes have one little thread to exchange anecdotes?

The perfect thread for a Friday

Lostpangolin - I know a calf is too big, you know a calf is too big, everyone knows a calf is too big, but it is one of the many ridiculous excuses I have heard justifying Fox hunting.

Bless you OP carry on as you are. I love foxes too and it is far more than them being beautiful. Their characters. I used to treat one with mange with meds sent to me by a fox rescue charity centre, can't recall the name. I used to put drops in jam sarnies

Oh, well done, op. Foxes are beautiful. Love the pic of him in Pizza Express!

You sound lovely op! Foxes are beautiful animals and don't deserve the hard time they get.

I hope fox 2 makes a speedy recovery.

I did exactly this a couple of years ago. Poor mangy fox appeared in the garden and it was the saddest sight.

I telephoned the local Wildlife Rescue place and they sold me some medicine-it was a dose a week for 3 weeks.

I managed to get the first two into him/her quite easily. Then they stopped coming. Finally they reappeared again and I got the last dose into them by putting it in a piece of DS's birthday cake and rolling it up the garden to it. Phew. It was a bit nerve wracking as other foxes also visited and they couldn't have the medicine.

The fur slowly grew back and he still visits occasionally now and gets some supper. Sparklingcat isn't bothered at all.

here are some pics i took of 'baby girl' who i used to feed for a couple of years (they are stills from a video i took as i don't have any photographs). i really loved her. one day she stopped coming at a time shortly after she had had some some cubs.

sparkling she's beautiful. I had literally no idea you could get medicine for a mangy fox from the wild life rescue. That's fantastic. Will defiantly be doing that if needs be.

Our foxes look fine at the moment and interact quite happily with my cats and the badgers.

I hope pizza express fox got a pizza

I do understand the farmers needs to protect their animals but to me anyone who dresses up to celebrate chasing a fox until its exhausted and then watching while a pack of dogs tears it apart Is sick in the head

Love the beautiful fox stories and pictures

I went on the link to try and get the mange treatment- have filled in details and pressed submit and it disappeared into the ether so I think it's gone through but there was no confirmation! Fingers crossed and if I don't hear from them I'll get it somewhere else.

It's random kindness day, apparently, so let's all feed the wildlife