A fox’s whiskers are long and as sensitive as a cats. The gray fox can be found throughout most of the United States as well as Central America. I also spoke to Sharon Williams, who runs a pet boarding and dog and cat sitting company, called Purr-fect Kitty, in Shortlands which is surrounded by woodland. As cats are notorious for curiosity and for mauling small animals, their concern is well founded, and we admit several such cubs every year with serious cat scratches and bites. All of this information leads us to the same conclusion… You can rest assured that a healthy, adult cat is not at risk when it comes to foxes. As we mentioned, if a fox sees an opportunity to kill a kitten or a weak, old or sick cat they will do so and yes, they will eat it. Popular culture gives the impression that foxes live on rabbits, but they actually eat a wide variety of food. healthful person male cats particularly from 12-20 lbs. Today I contacted Trevor Williams who runs The Fox Project, A charity established in 1991 as a specialist Wildlife Information Bureau and Fox Deterrence Consultancy. She explained that she had actually heard the foxes attacking the cats. I contacted Penny Little, who is the founder of Little Foxes Wildlife Rescue, with some questions regarding foxes and cats. Even if you raise it around a cat, and you manage to get them friendly and affectionate with one another, this will NEVER be something you can trust. Yes, it has been mentioned by several vets that foxes find roadkill and may drag the cat back to their den or be opportunists and eat parts of the dead cat. Keep a Cat … As foxes are prone to a range of diseases that also occur in domestic dogs, it is more likely for dogs to pick up health issues from foxes than it is for cats to pick up problems. Well, how does it hunt? Not sure if they would be able to kill a large feisty cat but they would have no problem killing a young inexperienced cat. Thus it is understandable if vixens with young cubs act defensively if a cat comes too near the nursery earth, as the cat clearly can represent a lethal threat to tiny cubs. [one_third valign=”top” animation=”none”], [two_third_last valign=”top” animation=”none”], Of course fox attacks can happen on the rare occasion and so cannot be entirely ruled out if we are to be realistic. The reason they do not attack dogs, cats or humans is because they are not something that a fox sees as prey. Walking into people’s houses is not common place and they would never go in with the intention of attacking someone. Well, from a personal perspective, I’ve had three cats in recent years and all of them chased the foxes out of the garden if they spotted them! Most wire pens are not robust enough to deter a determined fox. Many owners are happy to let their cat out to explore during the day but always bring them in in the evening because of the belief that cats are at risk of being attacked by foxes during the night. A survey in northwest Bristol produced similar results, it showed that foxes killed 0.7% of cats annually, with the victims more often than not being young kittens. Here’s what he had to say to contribute to this article. Have seen them in a tree about 20 feet above the ground. However, our experience both in the UK and in Scandinavia, where we were stationed for many years prior to the UK, does not confirm foxes attacking cats as normal or frequent behavior. The reason they do not attack dogs, cats or humans is because they are not something that a fox sees as prey. He always comes in at night. Foxes carry rabies and there is one up in my haybarn. He always comes in at night. Predators of the fox vary by its range; in North America, the fox often falls prey to coyotes, cougars, lynxes, bobcats, wolves, panthers and even eagles and other raptors. Maybe, just maybe, it’s somewhere in the middle! But, however great that rabbit flavour wet food might taste, not all dogs and cats eat their food in one go, often enjoying a few mouthfuls before coming back to finish it a bit later on. I have tried to make my research balanced and factual, unlike the scaremongering resorted to by some national newspapers who report foxes attacking babies as if it’s an everyday occurrence. This can be compared to the number of cats with cat bite injuries (541 in 10,000) and the number of cats involved in road traffic accidents (196 in 10,000). The occurrence of foxes killing smaller pets happens more frequently during spring or early summer when the foxes are raising cubs. 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