Fox and cat

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Stephen
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Yesterday on the 'lottie, which is in the middle of the town but with green spaces on two sides, I was taking advantage of the dry weather and sun in the afternoon (a bit before 15:00).

Suddenly movement attracted my attention. A fox was chasing a cat, not quite catching it. They paused for a moment a few feet away from me (well inside Covid-19 regulations) then the chase was off again. I couldn't work out how serious this was, was it play, was it just defending a perceived home ground, was it really agressive? The cat is certainly resident, I recognise it. I have been told we have foxes living in one corner (that furthest from where this took place).

I was surprised that a fox was out in broad daylight, I think of them as crepuscular.
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Monika
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At least the cat could escape up a tree with the fox unable to follow!
judyk
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Monika wrote:At least the cat could escape up a tree with the fox unable to follow!


I agree with Monika - if the cat was scared it would have gone up - tree, shed, fence, whatever was available. I think cats and foxes are pretty well matched opponents, and animals having much more sense than human beings, they won't take each other on in earnest unless it's unavoidable. We had two cats during the time we lived in a wild area in Essex, and there were plenty of foxes around, as the regular raids on our hen run demonstrated. Both cats spent most of their time outdoors, and although we spotted foxes watching the cat (or vice versa) from a distance occasionally, they never crossed paths. It might be that this was a young fox that has recently started out on its own to learn about the world, as this is about the time that the "teenagers" get chased off in advance of the next breeding season. I'd say this was just part of the learning process on the fox's part, and the cat sounds as if it was well in possession of its cool - if the foxes breed regularly near the allotment, it possibly has this to deal with in most years.

We did see foxes around during the day in Essex, but mostly on days like weekends when things were quieter, and then they generally stayed on the border of the wooded areas. Probably town foxes are more used to people and noise, and they aren't bothered by it. Also I'm sure they innately understand that kitchen gardeners are harmless and lovable people who would never do them any harm. :D
Stephen
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understand that kitchen gardeners are harmless and lovable people who would never do them any harm.

:lol:
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Primrose
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Years ago when we had a cat it would occasionally be out late at night (althiugh it was generally happy to be called in at dusk) and we saw several confrontations with a fox in iur front garde. The fox always backed off!

We have foxes round here appearing in daytime, mainly because that,s often when residents put out food for them and the foxes seem to adapt their feeding and hunting habits accordingly.
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