Four Legged Wildlife Question..

I am not a hunter ...but have great respect for most four legged wildlife.

You could say that I like and appreciate the motivations of four legged wildlife more than I like the Two legged variety.

At the same time I also know that certain varieties of four legged wildlife can become very intrusive and even dangerous to pets and such....can even become a pest...like the raccoons who get into my garage on occasion.


Here is what happened tonight....

I am having work done on my home and while standing on and enjoying a cool light on my new deck...suddenly what I came to realize was a fox...came across my neighbors yard ..climbed the fence and then ran across my yard...and into the woods behind my home.

Now here is my concern. Can and will a grown fox...kill and devour a domestic cat??

I ask this because I have never seen a fox in this neighborhood...but from time to time we get wildlife crossing through here. I've seen deer and also wild ducks and their young crossing my yard.

Hawks, Owls, and even Eagles are making a comeback around here..and I am glad of it.

But I have never seen a fox in this neighborhood.....this suburbia.

Nonetheless....can and will a fox kill a domestic cat...from medium to full sized??

I ask because one of my outdoor cats went missing in the last two weeks.

Until tonight I had no reason to think of it through the awareness that there was a fox running around here at night.

Thanks,
Watcherchris

 

I saw the fox last night when I got home from work...and standing on my back deck. The two outdoor cats were alright.

But between last night and when I got up this morning to feed them...they have become very skittish...even in coming up to the house for their food and milk. Something has clearly terrified them.

I have three foot traps...which I often use to catch raccoons who try to get into my garage.

I am thinking about putting them back out and see if I can catch a fox baiting them with marshmallows. Marshmallows are something which seem not to interest these cats.

Thanks for the info.

Watcherchris

 

We have foxes and cats and haven't had any problem with the foxes bothering the cats. Red Foxes aren't tree climbers so that cats have little trouble escaping them. Even the cats that have been declawed though have no problems. Coyotes seem to be about the only things that actively prey on cats around here. Cars and trucks get more of them than anything.

My daughters cat is a rabbit killer and also is hard on the mice, rats, birds, lizards and snakes. Little sucker will catch them then bring them in the house through the Doggie ?Door and put them in the bathtub and then eats them later.

My Tom Cat couldn't care less about any of that silly crud. He just comes and yowls at me when he's hungry. He prefers to stalk my Yorkie and the only mouse he will chase is a leather one that I have on a little ice fishing rod for "cat" fishing in the living room.

 

A cat should be able to get away easily if there are trees around to climb. You need to be careful for if that fox starts running around during the day and not scared of people it might be infected with rabies or be desperate from other disease or injury.

 

Foxes are sneaky rascals and you are right you don't see them often just out in the open during the day.

 

Depending on the type (grey or red in the east USA) the answer to your question is yes. Housecats are regularly killed by red foxes of both sexes and commonly killed by male grey fox. Climbing a tree can help sometimes against red fox but not against greys as they are excellent climbers. Years ago (when legal), house cat was used as bait for fox, coyote and bobcat. The only way to completely keep your cat safe is to keep him in your home or in some other confined space the excludes predators.

Dale