Outside

[cozietoesie]

I just heard a violent screaming/yelping outside. I went downstairs and out immediately but it had all gone quite.

I'm heartsore.

(We have a very large fox population. And no outdoor cats these days.)

Foxes often make that noise when they're fighting between themselves, or indeed mating. That's probably all it was.

Hi cozie. I have been doing lots of fox research lately. Apparently it is a myth they would attack a cat. And if they did the fox would come off worse.

Not a fox mating call was it? They are blood curdling. Alternatively, it could have just been a random cat fight.

Sparkling: Foxes have been known to attack adult cats and even to kill them, but it is very, very rare. They do of course kill kittens. Generally speaking though foxes and cats get along fine side by side. The foxes in my garden are very deferential to my cats, even to the very old, doddery and toothless ones, and will wait until the cats have finished eating until they approach the food.

I also see cats and foxes sunbathing together in my garden on occasions.

YY thecat. If a fox appears in our garden Sparkling Cat doesn't care-if another cat does she goes ballistic.

I am currently treating a fox with Sarcoptic mange that visits the garden. hence all the research

Hedgehogs rule the roost though. The Foxes wait for them to finish.

There are loads of both foxes and cats round here too.

Thanks for all the reassurances.

Sparkling: I've treated lots of foxes for mange. It's generally been very successful. I use the high strength stuff from the vet though rather than the more herbal type stuff that the fox charity gives you.

I have bought some Stronghold pipettes from the Wildlife Rescue, and he had the first dose in a bacon and sausage sarnie yesterday. Next dose next Sunday, then fingers crossed thecat he is a sorry state.

So they are specially for mange are they? As of course normally Stronghold is for fleas and it's to put on the skin, not to be ingested. I've forgotten the name of the stuff I get from the vet, but I can find out for you if you like. Just private message me.

And if you want an nice fox/cat story: a few years ago I was trapping and neutering a feral colony in a man's garden. He had built a few kennel things for the cats to shelter. An old fox had moved into one of the kennels and slept in there every night curled up together with one of the old cats. It was very sweet. He showed me photos.

I did tell them very specifically what it was and they said 2 treatments of the Stronghold works wonders when taken orally. Apparently a deer was treated the same way by putting it in a tomato.

Aww that's a nice story, I think they do get along.

Well that's nice, TCN.

Unfortunately, the reason I'm anxious is that back a good few months, I heard prolonged screaming outside - and on going to the window to see what was up, saw a young fox seemingly gnawing (in the middle of the street) on the neck of something with a long shape and the pale colour of a ginger cat in the streetlight.

Other posters tried to be reassuring but I'm afraid that I was completely convinced that a litter of young and hungry foxes (and I saw 3 together that night) were out and working together.

Was it killing a rat? They make a hell of a racket.

I heard screaming like that once, it made my blood run cold.

I don't know. Just don't know.

Try not to dwell on it, it would be hard in the dark to locate a fox predating a cat and successfully rescue it no matter how much you want to.

If there is a high fox population they must have a very good food source which is probably due to humans one way or another.

I saw more foxes in town than I ever did living in the country because they all got shot in the country.

I'll try. It was just the noise this evening.

(There are large numbers here - in a big city. I see them padding around in the dawn.)

I would imagine over Christmas with the bins and meat about they aren't going hungry to the extent they would hunt cats.

The two that visit here ( we are rural-ish) are always ravenous. They eat bread put out for the birds, but i don't believe they would hunt cats either.

my daughter has a pair of foxes that visit her back garden she buys them food mainly meat and dog food shes as soft as me, theres also a hedghog that comes for food and the foxes stand by and watch the hog eat first and dont go near him, my daughter says he stands there growking at the foxes and grumbles his way past them when hes eaten

The neighbours here feed foxes too. In fact, when I had chickens I saw an enormous fox in the garden whilst the chickens were free ranging. I kicked a football towards it and shouted loudly as I was terrified that it was about to kill. It looked at me confused and wondered away!