I saw a fox in my yard the other day and was wondering if they will harm a cat and if they will eat the left over food that the cats leave.
I have heard that when food is scarce a fox might go after a cat to feed its young. Yet, in my area this has never been the case. Are you certain they are not coyote. Coyote are a totally different thing. I had coyote too. They were usually in pairs and they were known for killing cats and small dogs in my area.My experience has been different.
Im in suburban area with foxes and they DO take cats and small, dogs and kill and presumably eat them. It happens frequently in the toronto region in canada.
Im quite certain a fox took one of our cats years ago. A couple of days before our midsized female cat dissapeared forever, we saw a fox about 2 houses from ours, running down the middle of the street with something white in its mouth. Our male cat refused to go outside for a week after our female cat disappeared. So he saw what happened.
Its true that come cats are as heavy as a fox, ours are probably just as heavy or heavier, 18 and 23 lbs. But a fox lives in the wild and is fighting and killing to feed its cubs. Foxes are almost always taller than a cat. A domestic cat probably wouldnt survive an attack if the fox was hungry. I have also seen the foxes in our neighbourhood hunt in pairs. On two occassions they have been in our yard when our cats have been out. Both times I chased the foxes off.
Foxes DO kill and eat cats and small dogs.
That depends on the species!Foxes only weigh about 12-15 pounds under all that fluff.
Fox behaviour can vary, but yes, they will absolutely go after a feral cat, quite aggressively. Even the bigger tomcats. I am dealing with this situation right now and have had to break up several fights over the last two weeks where the cat was just crossing the street or minding its own business and the fox comes running in (in broad daylight), barking and screaming at it and lunging and trying to find a way to grab it. This is happening in residential suburbs, on manicured front lawns. I have intervened several times with a supersoaker water gun to give the cat a chance to get away but fear what will happen when I'm not around. It's really stressful. Don't encourage foxes, it's a recipe for disaster if you care for ferals. Some may be benign, but many others are not. If you hear the unmistakable bark/scream of a fox, especially toward a cat, you have a predatory fox that's looking for an opportunity. Don't underestimate them.
Thanks for this. I will contact Animal Control tomorrow, though from previous personal experience it's doubtful they will do anything, as they've said before unless the animal is incapacitated or staggering and in one place, they don't generally come.Are you sure this is not a coyote? This is 100% not normal fox behavior.
If this is actually a fox, the odds are extremely high that the fox is actually sick - potentially rabid, depending on time frame. There is a very small chance this is a female who has chosen a den nearby and is protecting it, but it’s incredibly unlikely she would have done so in the middle of suburbia and not moved the kits by now.
Please contact your local wildlife rescue, rehab, sanctuary, or licensed rehabilitator. If you don’t have one, then please contact animal control as soon as possible to file a report.
Again, this is absolutely not normal behavior for a fox. Being out in daylight and in suburbia is normal - especially during mating/baby season (happening now) and when juveniles go out on their own in the fall - but the other behaviors (going after an adult cat, displaying overt aggression, not responding to severe hazing tactics) are not.
Trust me when I say that this is undoubtedly a public safety issue and the authorities need to be alerted about this ASAP.