Sooo much pooping

[Olly]

On Thursday evening I realised I hadn't seen one of the cats all evening. I discovered her under the desk upstairs, looking lethargic and with blood on her fur. I was convinced she'd been hit by a car, she eventually got up and I could see her legs were working, but she was very shaky, and could only walk a few steps before sitting down.

 

Emergency trip to vet, who said she hadn't been in a car accident, but discovered two large bite marks on her head. She reckoned it was too large for a cat-bite, and said it could have been a fox, possibly a juvenile. Now, I've seen cats and foxes in the garden before, just ignoring each other, and I've always been sceptical about foxes attacking them. However she'd clearly had a nasty shock and looked as if she was aching all over, it was a couple of days before she was moving properly.

 

Claudette is back to normal now (that means hissing and spitting at everyone except me! ) but I wondered if anyone else has had experience of a fox attacking a cat?

[Daphne]

No, but I have always been under the impression that they will if hungry/annoyed enough. With the cub season I could imagine the former. Dog foxes are so big and strong I don't think many cats would stand a chance. I keep a very strict eye indeed on your birds. I hope Claudette continues to make a full recovery for you but what a nasty situation to find yourself in

[Bramble]

Could she have s"Ooops, word censored!"ped with a dog or even a badger?

[Olly]

I don't think a badger is likely, I'm in a very urban setting; I know there are foxes around, which is why my chookies are only ever allowed to free range under strict supervision.

 

I asked the vet if it could have been a dog, but she reckoned (I'm not sure why!) that Claudette would probably have seen off a small dog, and the bite wasn't large enough to have been a large dog. I will never know, but it certainly shook her up.

[Nicola O]

My Norman was bitten a couple of years ago on his shoulder. He staggered in late one night dragging his front leg, covered in blood. The vet was adamant that it was a fox as the bite was too big and deep for a cat but not big enough for a dog. The wounds had to be flushed out, antibiotics etc., and after a few days he was on the mend.

 

He's quite a big beefy (well chubby) chap, but is often duffed up by the cat next door who is half his size. He follows her around like a love sick puppy and when she gets fed up with him she boxes his ears and sends him packing .

 

Nicola

[snowberry]

A cat of mine took on a badger & lost...he lost his nose & had to be put down poor thing

[chickencam]

My cat Scamp had a run in with a fox when we had only had her for a couple of weeks. She disappeared for 24 hours and came back home managing to jump a 6ft gate with a bite to her thigh and half a fang missing. The vet said that cat and fox encounters were not uncommon in our area. She rocovered from the bite very quickly and had to have the rest of her fang removed a few months later. We have kept out cats in at night ever since, we think that they had been largely indoor cats before we got them from Cats Protection and they are not very street wise. Our previous cat went out most nightsamd was a real night owl for about 16 years without incident.

 

I hope that your cat is fully better again soon.

[Aunty e]

My vet maintained that a fox would never go for a healthy cat. Arthur had to go to the vet for several really unpleasant bites and he said that it was a feral cat and that it was surprising how bad the bites could be.

[Ziggy]

Poor Claudette...

 

When Pompom was one year old (I remember it most clearly cause it was the morning of his first birthday), I woke up to hear the hens call to high heavens in panic, and jumped out of bed, assuming it'd be a fox hanging around their house. The bedroom is upstairs, and when I looked out of the window I found a thin but big fox walking very slowly backwards across the lawn, with Pompom the cat firmly facing him and pacing up to him, slowly pushing him away from the house and the hens. I was scared the fox would suddenly stop being scared of him and have a go at him, so I rushed downstairs and when he heard me clattering towards the door, the fox ran away... We fussed over Pompom a lot that day, but even though I can't believe how strong and determined he was in pushing the fox away just by 'growling' and hissing at him and walking at him, I am still not reassured that a cat could stand up to a fox who is either very hungry, or has hungry cubs (is it cubs or pups?? I never know) to feed. Once I heard a big crash in the garden and saw one of my cats run off into the trees over the wall, then noticed a fox, who ran off too, not sure if it was in fright of what had fallen down in the garden, or in pursuit of the cat. I was quite worried about the cat, who fortunately came back a bit later competely unharmed... thank goodness foxes can't climb trees...

 

We haven't had foxes in the garden since we've had Charlie our dog, but while I have seen a young cat stand up to a tall fox, I wouldn't want to take a chance...

 

Glad Claudette is ok, and I hope she doesn't encounter whatever bit her again, or flees instantly if she does...

[beach chick]

oh I hope she's ok now.

 

we think our young cat Smudge was taken by a fox a couple of years ago. he liked to sleep in a certain spot in the neighbour's garden, near a 'fox path' across several properties. he just disappeared off the face of the earth - we hunted, put up posters, leafletted the neighbourhood etc but nothing. then our next door neighbour said she had heard a dreadful altercation... trouble was he was a real outdoors boy, and would quite regularly go off for a couple of nights, so it took a few days to realise he really wasnt coming back. he was my oldest daughter's cat, she got him on her 10th birthday so it was a real shame.

 

I had always thought the idea of foxes taking a cat was a myth, but it's hard to think what else could have happened to Smudge-let.