To worry fox in garden will eat my cat?

[FFSAnotherProblemToSolve]

Just moved into a new house this week. Rented.

We have had a massive fox in the garden most days just chilling on the lawn like he’s renting it too! I’ve been out banging pots and it runs off but keeps coming back!

The garden is surrounded by a tall thick hedge. There are a few gaps at the bottom that owner has tried to block up with netting but obviously foxes will get through if they want to. Can’t put a fence around it as don’t want the expense if we’re only here for a year.

We have not moved our cat over to this house yet as she’s very much an outside cat and has only known old house (she’s 7) which was at the end of a cul de sac, very quiet, no traffic and surrounded by woodland. Foxes are there too but couldn’t get in garden and she could jump on garden fence (can’t here). Cat is very skittish and jumpy and always has been since kittenhood but mostly spends most of the summer months totally outside as won’t sleep inside.

New house has cars going past and is more built up so we left her at old house (going over to feed) while we got organised moving with noise etc, and I’m going to bring her back tonight.

I intend to keep her in a quiet shed outside all set up with litter, bed etc and bring her into house for short spells to acclimatise. I’ve also got a tiny dog harness and lead (that’s going to be fun putting on!) so she can explore outside on it without us worrying she’ll dart off if spooked and won’t find her way back.

Just freaked out about fox in garden. AIBU to be?

I made DH pee in the garden several times but the darn fox isn’t bothered!

I lived in a very rural village for a while with a few fox families around. I'm sorry to say a couple of cats were killed by foxes.

No solutions to offer but just to add to the consensus that yes, foxes do go for cats sometimes.

My (admittedly elderly) was killed by a fox a few years ago. We were gutted and I felt awful about it. It does happen unfortunately.

Firstly I have moved with cats 3 times and never shut them in a shed or put them in a harness.
Secondly a fox is very unlikely to both your cat

I watched a cat and a fox have a fight last week. The cat won

Why not use this opportunity to bond more with your cat and get her used to being in more? I've rehomed several feral cats and, without exception, they all became used to being inside, being fussed, etc. You really would be extremely unfair to her, shutting her in an outhouse - no wonder she's "feral" (she's not, just not properly socialised).

Just because you can't pick her up, and she doesn't sit on laps, doesn't mean she should be consigned to the outhouse.

We have a fox den in our garden. And two neighbour cats. They all like to sunbath in our garden and seem to take turns doing so, and give each other a respectful distance.

I really don't think you have anything to worry about!

I have foxes in my garden. The only time they bother with my cat is when they have cubs, and even then all they do is shout at my cat, and the cat shouts back at them.

I lost my cat to a fox several years ago. He went missing and we immediately suspected the fox as it had already taken our chickens and we'd seen it several times in the garden.

DH went searching the fields around our house and found the cat's partially eaten body just outside an obvious fox den entrance. Many people will tell you a fox won't kill a cat but they're wrong 😭

Don't just bang pots and pans, turn the hose on it. You can also get those ultrasonic fox deterrents but get rid of it before the cat arrives.

Cats and Foxes can cohabit together perfectly well. Watch SaveAFox on YouTube.

Our old cat befriended some fox cubs, then we moved and the new fox wasn't so friendly, cat went nuts full on attacked the fox , fox didn't come back after that. He was a nearly 7kg brute though
If your cat is semi feral it'll best a fox

2 foxes come through the garden most nights. They ignore the cats. The cats sit 6 yards off and watch the foxes in a mildly interested way but have never had any real contact in 6 years. My sister also has 2 cats and a family of foxes in her garden. They ignore each other.

I made DH pee in the garden several times but the darn fox isn’t bothered!

Love this detail! Could you get him to pee on the fox?

I took on a stray that DC1 took in just over two months ago. He'd clearly been a street cat, used to being out, but has acclimatised very well to a regime here of being in at night and only out during the day, so it is possible. As for the fox, you could look on FB, Gumtree etc for some free chicken wire to block up where a fox could come in, so it is easily removable.
I've had three rescue cats now, and whilst they've all taken time to settle, they did eventually.
The last cat I had wouldn't let me cuddle him until very late in his life, after seven years or so.
If you acclimatise your cat in the house rather than outside, you might find she changes character slowly and becomes more affectionate - she definitely won't do that if you keep giving her the message that she's supposed to live outside.

I've just lost my fairly decent sized male cat to a fox. Having said that where I live, they are huge buggers with balls of steel

You said you haven't been too worried about foxes in your old house because there was a fence your cat could jump up onto to escape if it needed to.
Can't you put a fence-substitute up in the new garden? something the cat can easily jump up onto, but that a fox wouldn't be nimble enough to do the same? Does the outhouse have a flat roof? or a window? Something like a bird table/ shelf/ perch next to it might be ideal, and allow the cat to get inside/ on the roof...

We have foxes in our garden. They run away from our cats.

Foxes attack and kill cats all the time. My cat was killed by a fox. Be very cautious.

I have a small dog and a local mangy fox and have wondered the same thing.

Surprised that so many cats on here have been eaten by by foxes as it isn’t common. People can also mistake other sorts of cat deaths for fox attacks. I am not saying that is the case on this thread.

I have a fox den at the bottom of my garden and two (alive) cats. Have been there 12 years. I understand your worries about your outdoor cat as I have one and wouldn’t know how to move them. I’d go on the Litter Tray forum on here and ask for advice.

Very tame fox where I live who is desperate to be friends with neighbour's cat.

The cat allows the fox to walk 3 feet behind him when they go on outings together and to sit 3 feet away. The cat is very definitely in charge.

The other foxes ignore the cat and vice versa.

Could go either way. Most YouTube videos the cats win but not 100% guaranteed.

Seriously, what's the point of many of you saying that cats aren't harmed by foxes when many of us have said yes it does happen? Just because you don't have experience of it happening doesn't mean it doesn't happen ffs. I have it all on camera that a fox went for my cat and scratched him.

This is so weird. I’m just home from collecting DH from a night out, and we passed a huge fox running along with a cat hanging out of his mouth. I never knew they would do that!

Could you build her a catio to protect her from foxes and traffic?