The night before last I turned on the outside light to see what wild animals might have come to eat the food we leave out for them. I sure got a surprise. I held my breath for a minute. This was great. A fox was there. I was elated. It was the first fox I had seen around in several years. The last one I saw was crossing the road a long ways from me. I called my wife to come and looked.
The fox is a beautiful animal. I don't know a lot about them, but know they are smart. They eat lots of things like mice, rats and other things we are glad to see gone.
Then another thought crossed my mind, which caused a little dread. They are known to eat rabbits and chickens. If they will eat them, will they kill and eat cats? This I do not know, but think entirely probable.
I decided to watch him until he left. If I saw a cat anywhere I would immediately chase him away. He was just about finishing off the food in the smaller pan. He was very cautious. He would look around to make sure there was no danger, then take a bite and look around some more. He ate the little that was in that pan and then went to a pan which contained some old cereal. He ate a few bites there and then seemed unsure about something and eased off out of sight to my left.
I continued to watch in case he came back. A couple of minutes later he came slipping back. He did not stop this time, just continued walking and left to my right.
Since then I have worried about him getting a cat. It is possible as long as the other food is there he would leave the cats along, but I don't want to take the chance. I decided to watch closer for a while and chase him off if he comes back. I usually just look outside a few times a night. I'll check much more often for a while. I did not see him last night.
As cautious as he seemed I think and hope that if he is chased off a time or two the will not come back.
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Comments: 65
Foxes mostly eat small mammals and wounded birds, and are not above scrounging a meal from a garbage can if the pickings seem safe. Although foxes are infamous in stories and legend for raiding the hen house, most foxes prefer to avoid noisy prey and will not enter any situation that seems too suspicious. Similarly, foxes rarely attack dogs or cats - the former because they are noisy and likely to attract attention, the latter because they are armed and troublesome. A fox will usually fight off a dog only to protect its family, and only if there is no other choice. Most foxes prefer to lead a dog away from the den and into foreign territory, there to lose it and return without doing battle. (When family pets or small livestock do disappear, the culprit is often a coyote, a raccoon or another dog. The fox may enjoy a snack once the deed is done if there are leftovers, but will rarely go after anything that might sound an alarm.)
They have very varied diet, Urban foxes also eat earthworms, insects, fruit and vegetables and a wide variety of both domestic wild birds and mammals. Insects include large numbers of beetles, cut worms (the larvae of noctuid moths, which they get off lawns on wet nights), and both larval and adult craneflies. Most of the birds they eat are feral pigeons and small garden birds, and the most frequently eaten mammals are generally field voles, abundant on allotments, railway lines and other grassy areas. So urban foxes really do have a good varied diet.
Should I feed my foxes?
If you want to, yes; lots of people feed their foxes, either regularly or occasionally, and get a great deal of enjoyment from doing so.
What should I feed them?
Virtually anything. Being carnivores, they like cooked or raw meat and tinned pet food. Meat bones and chicken carcasses are fine, don't worry about putting out cooked chicken bones – foxes love them and, contrary to popular belief, they pass through the foxes gut without any problem. Foxes also like other savoury items such as cheese, table scraps, bread soaked in fat, fruit and cooked vegetables.
Will the foxes become dependent on me?
No. Obviously, if you regularly put out lots of nice food, the foxes will turn up every night, but if you forget to feed them, there are plenty of other food sources around. It may be strange but urban foxes frequently eat peanuts, bird seed, and other food put out on bird tables.
It's possible but not very unlikely. A typical urban fox home range can be also occupied by upwards of 100 cats, and most of these are out at night. Foxes and cats meet many times every night, and invariably ignore each other. When a fight does break out, it's often the fox that comes off worse in the encounter.
Foxes also carry salmonellosis, distemper and several types of worms and other parasites, cute and fluffy as they are. I live on acreage and have only seen one fox in my yard during the daylight. That was when my plum trees had a very good year and all the animals from coyotes to deer were stopping by for brunch.
Don't feel too guilty, though, as foxes will also eat bird seed, squirrel food and all those little rodents scurrying around in your yard.
I hope tho', that your animals stay safe.
Also, William, we have foxes, coyotes, bobcats AND rattlesnakes around my house... the only altercation that's ever happened is between the kitty and a rattler... however, prompt vet care and anti-biotics cleared it up in a matter of days and Plunkett is as good as new...
I really feel that you don't have anything to worry about on account of the fox... As others have said, the fox is an "opportunist" who far prefers baby, injured and less noisy/fisty prey than an adult housecat...