Do foxes attack cats?

[maggiethecat]

Our 3 yo cat is quite timid and likes going into the garden but never wanders off (she's a rescue and we've had her for 4 months).

I know there are foxes in our area as neighbour's rabbit was caught by one and I wonder if foxes attack cats especially since ours is smallish.

Yes, they can do, but it's rare, and if your cat has an escape route ie from garden through cat flap into house it'd be unlikely.

Foxes are quite shy creatures really.

At this time of year there are no cubs to feed / defend so vixens are mostly scavenging.

Yes. My friends cat was badly injured by a fox. She was in a terrible state and wasn’t expected to survive but amazingly she did. Another friend thinks her cat was attacked by a fox but hers was a burly pretty feisty cat and escaped with less injury. The vet said it definitely is something foxes do.

No cat flap but I'd like to think that a fox might not be able to reach the places that a cat might - like high up in a tree but I could be wrong.

I hope I'm needlessly worried.

Never heard of that happening. Obviously a PP is saying it does so I'm sure it must happens sometimes but...

we've always had local foxes and they seem to be intrigued by our cats more than anything. When my now old cat was a kitten we came home to find her playing with the local fox club! It was very cute.

@maggiethecat the average fox really does not go chasing cats up trees. Like a PP said they are fairly shy creatures as a rule.

In a dark urban night, a fox and an adult cat meeting each other in the street usually results in them swerving around each other suspiciously.

A hungry vixen with cubs to feed in Spring meeting a kitten or small cat might be a different story.

Also foxes can pass on fleas and mites and you really want to avoid that.

I think the answer is usually no. We' have foxes round us and our cats and the local foxes ignore each other - apart fron one of our previous cats who seemed to have made friends with a fox and we'd quite often see them close to each other.
Having said that, a friend of ours lost their elderly cat to a fox so while unusual it can happen with a weak animal.

Yes - DSIL cat was attacked and died - it was horrendous- but this was an urban fix. We live in countryside and never heard of it here

I had a cat who was at the time getting to end of her days but insisted on going out for a night time stroll. She was a bit lame and doddery so I used to watch from window as she pottered round garden. Good job I did as one might I looked out and there was a big fox stalking her clearly realising she was vulnerable.

Yes my boy was in a fight with a fox. Luckily just outside my window so I intervene

You can cat proof gardens, it would stop you worrying.

Not that I know of We've lived here for 40 years always had cats and foxes around, and it's never been a problem.In fact I came home from work one day to see my cat and a fox both curled on the lawn about 3 feet apart.

The foxes who live somewhere behind our garden often lie down in the sunshine with the cat from next door. Don’t know if this typical behaviour but its what happens here.

We have a fox that visits and Sparklingcat doesn’t bat an eyelid. She watches it as it comes into the garden. They have come very close to one another but no reaction by either.

I hope they’re ok as I have a rescue kitten desperate to be outside and have a fox living under our compost heap. We have a biggish garden with a few trees so hopefully not a problem.

I live in an area with a lot of urban foxes, we've never had any issues and I've watched out of the window while my girl and a fox have eyed each other up and gone their separate ways.

Ok, sounds for the most part she’ll be fine.

I think it's rare. I've had cats for 40+ years and had never heard it happen till last year. A childhood cat of mine used to play with a fox.

But last year a local cat was killed and my own cat seriously injured and we think it was a fox.

I know this thread is old but I noticed that I posted about my kitten. I think there’s a difference between rural and urban areas and fox behaviour. My cat has been chased by a fox twice that we know of and recently a young fox strolled through our open French doors into our sitting room while I was sat there. This year it has been reported locally a small dog was killed by a fox.( the owner saw the attack and posted the information) Several other people subsequently posted about their cats being injured or killed as a result of fox attacks. When I lived in the country I barely saw a fox but here in suburbia they visit our garden nightly. Maybe it will change when our car is bigger but I would warn against being complacent and this image of foxes being fearful or shy is not necessarily the case.