Last night I opened the door to let the cat in as I thought i heard her mucking about on the step knocking pots over etc.
It was the cat but only coz she'd scrambled up onto the windowsill to escape the FOX!! It was standing not more than 6 feet away! We stood and regarded each other for a while, he wasn't at all afraid. OH went to get camera and he slunk off.
Loved foxes since i was small. My parents ran pubs and one of the customers has a fox as a pet. Was lovely thing, very friendly. I dreamed for years about having one of my own!!
Mmmmmm, lovely animals..........until they eat your pet chickens :(
We live with open fields to front and rear and two summers ago we had one visit us at dusk. He decided to go on a rampage in the chicken pen. Luckily my son caught sight of him through the bedroom window and shouted and the fox jumped over the 6ft fence just like a racehorse. Unfortunately he'd killed two of my hens by then but we were very lucky he didn't get the others.
I saw a programme last week about urban foxes and yes they're quite cute, but you soon change your mind when you see the devastation they can cause.
Linda x
Our cat got seriously mauled by a fox, but she's small, old and kept taunting it. We think she fell asleep while waiting for it this one night and it grabbed her by the neck and threw her around a bit. Luckily I heard the commotion and chased the fox off. Cat couldn't walk or raise her head for a week but alright now (which is more than you can say for my wallet, which the vet confiscated)
I don't think you've got anything to worry about with foxes if your cat's young and fit...
A friend of ours left their back door open one evening and a fox got in and hid under their little boy's cot. Luckily they managed to shoo it out of the bedroom, but it went into the bath room and went under the floorboards. They had to get a trap from the RSPCA and wait until it came out. My friend didn't have a bath for several days!!!
They are beautiful looking creatures...from a distance, but do cause devastation -kept chickens when I was a child as well.
I would love to have chickens now,but we are over run by urban foxes here.
I love foxes as well :)
DESPITE the fact that they ate Colin the rabbit, Maisy the chicken, Tyrone & Fizz the ducks etc.
Foxes are only doing that they do naturally in the wild.
My take on it is: If we choose to have domesticated animals then we (as humanoids responsible for looking after the domesticated animals) should take responsibility for their safety.
Sometimes it's difficult but at NO point is it impossible. Don't blame the fox ... or the rat .... or the cat ... or the badger ... etc etc....
I absolutely agree with you Trixiebelle.......but the cat situation breaks my heart ,as cats seem to get the best of both the wild and domestic life. I LOVE ANIMALS. We dont have as many wild animals, exotic birds or creatures in the sea,or reptiles or insects as other countries do. Is it because we have broken the natural food chain ,by getting rid of them one way or another. Maybe we haven,t quite made them all extinct but we must be well on the way !
When we had chickens ,they had a big run with chicken wire over the top of it as well as the sides ...but I realise this is only suitable for those with small numbers of chickens. I have no idea how you protect chickens on a large scale,maybe someone can put forward their ideas to help others. ......with out harming the fox . Rohaise :'(
Was doing some cooking late the other evening - burning the midnight oil - (and a lot of other things as well ;)) - back door always open in my kitchen to let out the black smoke. Ran out of worktop space (v. small kitchen) so put the last (pre-buttered) tin on the floor. Left the kitchen for a few moments - thought I heard a noise - returned to find the skinniest fox in the world pushing the tin across the floor as he licked the butter out. He didn't even run away - just looked at me with really sad eyes - and walked out. :( I've been putting meat scraps out for him ever since ;)) I love foxes.
My OH lost bunnies to foxes as a child, his brother didn't tuck them up that night. He was devastated, not a pretty sight. He still loves foxes though, as trixie says, you can't blame the animal for doing what is instinctive.
RABBIT LORE : The word rabbit is forbidden on Portland as they burrowed under and around the quarry and the resulting collapse killed lots of quarry men. You have to say bunny. :)