Just got chased by a fox!

[redhen]

My suggestion?? Stop letting the cat outside if you want him to live.
Yep..that was one ballsy fox..and be SURE that he WILL be back for a cat or chicken meal...

 

[Noymira]

Quote:
This is what I use. I'm not a weak woman, either, but I'm kinda short and this gun fits me. Since you've shot before, you know that you have to think about what's on the other side of your target and will be careful. It scares me when I read, "I've never shot a gun, but I'm going to get one..." The behavior of the fox is concerning to me. Rabies is for sure a possibility, but I wonder what kind of area you live in. Are you rural, where there's plenty of room for them to roam without coming in contact with people? Or are you in a more populated area where they could be acclimated to having humans around, which could make them more bold? Either way, it sounds like he has to go.

I was raised around guns and taught to shoot at a young age, I went to hunter safety camp and loved it, just not a big hunter. I have a healthy respect for and understanding of fire arms, and we've been talking about getting a gun for a while now.

We live in a town of about 4000, we are semi-rural. We have 2.5 acres and have houses on one side, but on the other side we are up against 100+ acres of sugarwood and mountain, the fox is only crowded if he wants to be. My brother seemed to think he might be one of last year's offspring from the same female fox, or I suppose it could be her mate. He really wanted that cat.

 

[augustwest]

Just wanted to add that we had a fox experience like that a week or so ago. He came into the garage to hunt our free rangers and was NOT afraid of me at all. My cat was also in the garage, all puffed up. The fox also barked at me as I started yelling at him.

I finally chased him away (he ate a 5 week pullet) and he came back later and tore open our run and ate 2 layers. I was totally worried about rabies and the vet and ACO told me that it's kit season- fox are bold, bold, bold this time of year feeding their babies. They both said not to worry. We're all up to date on shots here, too.

As an aside, vet said that once an animal becomes symptomatic of rabies, that it will die within 7-10 days. The only time the animal can trasmit rabies is duing those 7-10 days of symptoms.

We saw a dead baby on the road about a half mile away. Hit by car. Sure was a pretty momma.... baby was as cute as a button.

We've revamped our run and (knock on wood) it seems OK now. I've seen foxy around in the early am hunting for bunnies in the back yard. We won't own a gun, so we have to prevent attacks as best we can. A woman a few towns away was chased by a bear a few days ago. That freaked me out, too!

Good luck with yours!

 

[Noymira]

Quote:
We managed to keep the cat in all night, but he slipped out this morning. I'm afraid his days may be numbered, but he's a big cat and impossible to keep in when he really wants to get out.

If we manage to keep him in 24/7 for more than a few days I might be ready to kill him, he looks like a Maine coon, but sounds like a darn Siamese when he wants out!

I'll be getting a larger live trap I guess. We've also been trying to trap a feral cat who was missing half his tail, I think I know now where the tail went...

 

[Noymira]

Quote:
Yeah, we are building our permanent run and converting our shed to a coop this weekend, I think we'll be beefing up security on what we've planned for a run. The sooner we can get all our chickens in there the happier I'll be.

That was a very bold fox, I think I was just in the bad position of being between him and what looked like a VERY nice dinner. I'm hoping he wasn't rabid, but we are going to be very cautious for a while. My brother seemed to think he was just hot on the hunt and not happy with me for interfering, we don't see many rabid animals here (but it does happen once in a great while).

 

[Noymira]

I got a call back from the rabies/nuisance animal group in our area where I had left a message last night. They've given me the number for the local game warden to call if we need help, but also told me to shoot it or trap it if it was on our property again and seemed threatening. They said they were getting many similar reports, but ours did sound a bit aggressive. They thought it might have mange, but didn't sound rabid.

I think I'll ask my brother if he's willing to do a little patrol for me at dusk for a few evenings while I get a large trap. If we can trap or shoot it we'll call the game warden to collect it for testing. If we keep seeing it and can't get it, we'll have them come out. I have a feeling we have not seen the last of this fox, but I really hope he decides to find easier targets elsewhere.

 

[augustwest]

After our attack, I read this forum for days looking for advice. I read one post that suggested that a 50 lb bag of dog food dragged into the woods- far away from your chickies- and that will keep them at bay. I have mixed feelings about feeding wildlife. But, it seemed like a temp. solution for those baby hungry foxes.

The other thing that I read was a story about an attack like yours and mine- except this fox stopped at the edge of the yard to bark at the human AND picked up a tennis ball that belonged to the dog and started to play with it. Crafty little buggers.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

Best of luck in catching that nasty fox! We had them all over the place this past fall and winter. They chased our outdoor cat a couple of times and were all over by the back deck and along the house. When we'd flip on the light to see the fox, it would stare at us and continue making it freaky calls. It was usually sitting under my children's swingset, which is close to the house, too. They thankfully, moved on.

 

[JoePa]

"since your a woman" - excuse me - I'm an old timer and things were different when I was growing up - like Archie Bunker would say - "when men were men and girls were girls" - the good old days -

 

[woodmort]

It is unusual for a fox to attack a cat--not that they wouldn't but size-wise they tend to be too large to be prey. If the fox--or any animal for that matter--is rabid they will not attack to eat. If the fox was interested in getting at your birds, it wasn't rabid, just hungry or feeding kits and willing to go through you to get them--or didn't want you around taking its food away.