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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to think this fox was shouting for my cat?

33 replies

Beebee8 · 30/03/2019 05:12

Just got woken up by a fox screeching in our garden for a good 5 minutes. Was sitting right in front of the conservatory looking at the house, I have never heard one so loud. It went away when my husband went down and put a light on (to see if it was hurt).

It's the first time we have seen a fox around here since moving in last summer but the other day our neighbour knocked on our door and asked if the previous owner of our house had told us about 'the Fox' and did we know our cat had been chasing it across the back gardens?

Aibu to think this fox was yelling for cat to come out and play? I might be delirious.

OP posts:
ApplestheHare · 30/03/2019 05:18

They scream to communicate with each other, and more so when mating or defending territory. Unlikely (but not totally unheard of) that it wants to play with your cat.

DonaldTwain · 30/03/2019 05:50

I love that. Cute!

Nillynally · 30/03/2019 06:03

Is cat coming out to play?

Kitsandkids · 30/03/2019 06:24

Awww, it might not be true but that is totally what I would think too - that the fox had come to knock on for your cat to play out!

ElizabethMainwaring · 30/03/2019 06:28

Foxes are incredibly noisy and territorial. I can almost guarantee that it wasn't trying to get the attention of your cat in order to play with it. I do love foxes, hope you enjoy yours.

MrsSchadenfreude · 30/03/2019 06:40

Could be! My aunt opened the back door one night to let the cat in and found it on the door step cuddled up next to a young fox. She said the cat yawned, stretched and sauntered indoors, pausing to miaow good night to his foxy friend, who went back to sleep!

CarlGrimesMissingEye · 30/03/2019 06:43

My cat decided to fight a fox. That one didn't go well. I'd much rather he'd tried to befriend it. Might have been less stressful than surgery!

coldwarenigma · 30/03/2019 06:47

We came home one evening to find our cat playing with a fox cub...they were chasing each other around...no aggression ...purely playing...

90percentvodka10percenthuman · 30/03/2019 06:51

I had a fox follow me and the dog on a walk a few weeks ago. It stayed a fair distance away but was definitely watching us. When I returned home it sat across the road and barked almost in protest that it couldn’t carry on doing whatever it was doing.

I also had one morning where I was woken by the awful noise and looked out of my bedroom window to see my cat being circled by three foxes. My first thought was that it was going to be the end of cat but he suddenly launched himself at one of them and all three foxes scarpered.

anniehm · 30/03/2019 07:05

My dog hates foxes, it's a real territorial dispute. They are super noisy always

eyeswideshit · 30/03/2019 07:07

My big ginger Tom had a fox friend that used to come call for him. They'd run off to the fields together. Very cute!

labazsisgoingmad · 30/03/2019 07:08

cats and foxes do play together my late father told me many a time he saw his cat out playing with a fox

gotin2amess · 30/03/2019 07:17

I am sorry to spoil the cute vibes in this thread but my experience tell me that foxes and cats are not always best friends.

The colony of cats on my brother's farm are terrified of the foxes. The foxes predate them (the farm has no poultry that would attract a fox). If the cats venture too far into the woodland where at least one fox has her den, they often do not come back!

I love the idea of little foxes and cats playing. However, from my experience, the fox may not be asking the cat for a play date; she will be calling round for dinner!

(PS: Vixens screech like banshees when they are in heat).

gotin2amess · 30/03/2019 07:18

tells

BunsOfAnarchy · 30/03/2019 07:23

COME PLAY WITH ME SO I CAN EAT YOU AAAAGGGHHHHHH.

sounds about right Grin

Japonicaflower2 · 30/03/2019 07:26

Sorry op but it's far more likely to be a randy vixen screeching for a mate than wanting to play with your cat 😃

Original poster
Beebee8 · 30/03/2019 07:31

Nooooo! He is a tiny little thing (burmese) she (?) better not eat him Shock

He's only allowed out during daylight hours but if this is the fox he's been chasing then that won't matter as it's obviously round the gardens during the day too!

I did consider she (?) was calling for a mate but was just odd that she would be doing so right in front of our house.. no other foxes appeared!

OP posts:
theresafoxunderthedecking · 30/03/2019 07:36

we have a young adult fox who visits our garden, and lives under our neighbours decking, since it moved in it's cleared out the rats that lived there so it's more than welcome in my book.
when it's sunny it sunbathes in the garden and is quite unfazed.

AfterSchoolWorry · 30/03/2019 07:40

A fox killed my cats Mother. It was on a farm. (They were feral cats.)Sad

IceniSky · 30/03/2019 07:41

Reflection in window thinking it's another fox? The bluetits are coming to our kitchen window and looking in. I thought they were asking for more food but Google told me they think their reflection is competition and there is a nest nearby.

Had a look around and a nest next door in a bird box.

Hadjab · 30/03/2019 08:02

I’m impressed that you seem to only have the one fox! They roam in packs here, cry all night and shit everywhere here in London

SynchroSwimmer · 30/03/2019 08:19

I believe foxes aren’t normally mating at this time of year (normally “calling” and mating December/January) and fox cubs are now being born. (Happy to be corrected on this).

My older cat was friends with a dog fox, and younger cat used to go and seek out the fox cubs, getting them to follow him back to see me.

KC225 · 30/03/2019 08:26

Years and years ago I did a paper round, as I used to see a fox and a cat hanging out together. Sometimes they were just sitting near each other contently, once they were sharing the proceeds of what looked like a bin raid ...... Not sure why, the cat was a pet. Unused to deliver the Daily Telegraph to his mum and dad.

cornishpixue · 30/03/2019 22:43

We have a couple of foxes living at the end of the garden, and they often have cubs (sooo cute) we also have a cat.

The all happily share the garden, albeit the foxes are often down the bottom and the cat nearer the house, but we often see them sat in the sunshine, about 6ft from each other. The cubs are the best though as they come down nearer the house to play on the lawn and the cat will watch them.

They've never chase each other or fought, the all seem to accept each other without getting too close. 🦊 🐱

Cherrysoup · 30/03/2019 23:11

Mating season, they do indeed screech like banshees.

I opened the back door one time, just in time to save my cat whose head was inside the fox’s mouth. Mostly, foxes and cats tend not to get on. Keep your cat away from the foxes.

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