Cats and Foxes. A tale of instant Karma.
Discussion
About an hour ago i heard that god awful sound that occurs when one of your cats gets cornered by a fox. 
Sadly it was the younger (although larger) fluffball Horatio. I headed out when i heard the noise and Hora had by then made it up the massive Oak tree in the field and was sitting a good 30 feet off the ground looking distressed while the Fox in question was sitting at the bottom of the tree looking smug.
Scare off Fox, back door open, shake of the biscuits and Hora is now being petted on the the sofa by my flatmate.
As I was waiting for Hora to come in Freya The Cat (older, smaller, evil and slightly Greebo like in her appreciation of other lifeforms) decided that after an entire day of sleeping on the bed now was the time to go outside for a while.
Shortly before i started typing this i could hear the sound of a fox howling in pain, FTC doesn't play well with others and i fully expect her to swan back in shortly, once again covered in bruises and cuts but most definitely victorious.
She is a small, fluffy ball of meowing vengeance and is currently dishing instant karma to any bushy tailed vermin that infest the area. A thought that has made me feel slightly better about the trauma my poor kitten has just had to go through.
ETA - FTC is back, no major damage except for a cut under her chin. Someday she will cost me a lot of money at the vet.
Sadly it was the younger (although larger) fluffball Horatio. I headed out when i heard the noise and Hora had by then made it up the massive Oak tree in the field and was sitting a good 30 feet off the ground looking distressed while the Fox in question was sitting at the bottom of the tree looking smug.
Scare off Fox, back door open, shake of the biscuits and Hora is now being petted on the the sofa by my flatmate.
As I was waiting for Hora to come in Freya The Cat (older, smaller, evil and slightly Greebo like in her appreciation of other lifeforms) decided that after an entire day of sleeping on the bed now was the time to go outside for a while.
Shortly before i started typing this i could hear the sound of a fox howling in pain, FTC doesn't play well with others and i fully expect her to swan back in shortly, once again covered in bruises and cuts but most definitely victorious.
She is a small, fluffy ball of meowing vengeance and is currently dishing instant karma to any bushy tailed vermin that infest the area. A thought that has made me feel slightly better about the trauma my poor kitten has just had to go through.
ETA - FTC is back, no major damage except for a cut under her chin. Someday she will cost me a lot of money at the vet.
Edited by omgus on Wednesday 28th September 22:58
I'm very glad it's not just FTC that likes to have at the little buggers. 
No how do i convince the other furball to stick up for himself i hate worrying about him when i hear the kerfuffle. I'm thinking some kind of fight school where i throw in squirrels diguised as foxes and work up to the real thing.
No how do i convince the other furball to stick up for himself i hate worrying about him when i hear the kerfuffle. I'm thinking some kind of fight school where i throw in squirrels diguised as foxes and work up to the real thing.
you can't - they'll find their natural order by themselves
we've new next door neighbours who have a dog and a cat - mrs envy's cat would have in the past had a right old scrap but he's understood he's got to share half his territory so just intimidates them now
very funny watching him antagonise the dog
we've new next door neighbours who have a dog and a cat - mrs envy's cat would have in the past had a right old scrap but he's understood he's got to share half his territory so just intimidates them now
very funny watching him antagonise the dog
omgus said:
I'm very glad it's not just FTC that likes to have at the little buggers.
No how do i convince the other furball to stick up for himself i hate worrying about him when i hear the kerfuffle. I'm thinking some kind of fight school where i throw in squirrels diguised as foxes and work up to the real thing.
Titanium claws?No how do i convince the other furball to stick up for himself i hate worrying about him when i hear the kerfuffle. I'm thinking some kind of fight school where i throw in squirrels diguised as foxes and work up to the real thing.
My parents eldest cat (I considered her mine when I was a child, but she's long dead now) used to get along fine with the local fox(es). No fighting, just playing about. She was a tough old grump of a matriarch for much of her life, I guess she considered the foxes to be something of an equal.
I've got a little white cat who is completely deaf and half blind (from birth) who takes no s
t from foxes. She has been attacked by them a few times and now is she sees one she will go after it! One of her kittens from years ago still lives with her so I think she still feels maternal. Either way she is a brave little thing
t from foxes. She has been attacked by them a few times and now is she sees one she will go after it! One of her kittens from years ago still lives with her so I think she still feels maternal. Either way she is a brave little thingNo how do i convince the other furball to stick up for himself i hate worrying about him when i hear the kerfuffle. I'm thinking some kind of fight school where i throw in squirrels diguised as foxes and work up to the real thing.
First rule of Cat fight club is....... you dont talk about it..
First rule of Cat fight club is....... you dont talk about it..
We have lived in our house for some 20 years now and our garden backs onto a park. We have one dog and four cats. Eight years ago we had three dogs and twelve cats. Only two of the cats have outlived all the others and they are 19. Apart from our own of course, we feed all the animals and birds.
Mother nature provides many suprises and many heart aches. We have always gone on the premis that if there is plenty of food for all then there is no need to fight or kill over it and it works. A fox will not attack a cat (usually) unless they are desperate for food. A fox cannot afford to be injured as they won't be going to the vet.
Over the many years we have seen some special individuals. A magpie that would hop into the kitchen squawking for food if the the dogs/cats bowls were empty, or he/she would help himself. That was when we had the zoo. They never touched the magpie. It had one feather that stuck out from the rest so we knew which magpie it was. One year we had lots of magpies. They killed our little friend as I guess he got too old. I don't know.
One time Kerry bought a box of health bars. Got fed up with them and through them in the garden and the pigeons ate them. They started attacking the magpies. Health bars, yeh right.
Squirrels. We had one named Jack. Must be three years ago. Would feed from Kerry's hand until I got it through her head that he might by accident take the top of her finger off. Cheeky bugger used to jump through the cat flap and help himself to the nuts in a bowl on the kitchen table. We still recognise Jacks siblings. They are the cheeky ones.
Foxes. Many different characters. We had one that used to come down for its food 6pm every day. Three of the cats used to wait for him. Two foot away when he ate. Our current Jack Russel, four years old I have seen playing in the garden with the youngish fox cubs. We have a new breed of cubs now. These are not so friendly. There maybe six, but one or two are too dominant. Kerry throws out the food for them and the dominant ones pick up as many chicken legs as they can whilst two cower in fear. She tries to coax them out after they has gone but they are so scared. Boris our big male cat is a sod. Saturday morning we have 9 chicken legs in our garden where he has jumped over the fence and retreived them from the park so the foxes don't get fed.
Is it wrong or right to sort of intervene in nature, I don't know. If it stops them killing each other for food or more to the point possibly attacking or killing our own, then I'm happy with that. Just don't ask me what I spend a month on keeping my enormous zoo well fed.
Mother nature provides many suprises and many heart aches. We have always gone on the premis that if there is plenty of food for all then there is no need to fight or kill over it and it works. A fox will not attack a cat (usually) unless they are desperate for food. A fox cannot afford to be injured as they won't be going to the vet.
Over the many years we have seen some special individuals. A magpie that would hop into the kitchen squawking for food if the the dogs/cats bowls were empty, or he/she would help himself. That was when we had the zoo. They never touched the magpie. It had one feather that stuck out from the rest so we knew which magpie it was. One year we had lots of magpies. They killed our little friend as I guess he got too old. I don't know.
One time Kerry bought a box of health bars. Got fed up with them and through them in the garden and the pigeons ate them. They started attacking the magpies. Health bars, yeh right.
Squirrels. We had one named Jack. Must be three years ago. Would feed from Kerry's hand until I got it through her head that he might by accident take the top of her finger off. Cheeky bugger used to jump through the cat flap and help himself to the nuts in a bowl on the kitchen table. We still recognise Jacks siblings. They are the cheeky ones.
Foxes. Many different characters. We had one that used to come down for its food 6pm every day. Three of the cats used to wait for him. Two foot away when he ate. Our current Jack Russel, four years old I have seen playing in the garden with the youngish fox cubs. We have a new breed of cubs now. These are not so friendly. There maybe six, but one or two are too dominant. Kerry throws out the food for them and the dominant ones pick up as many chicken legs as they can whilst two cower in fear. She tries to coax them out after they has gone but they are so scared. Boris our big male cat is a sod. Saturday morning we have 9 chicken legs in our garden where he has jumped over the fence and retreived them from the park so the foxes don't get fed.
Is it wrong or right to sort of intervene in nature, I don't know. If it stops them killing each other for food or more to the point possibly attacking or killing our own, then I'm happy with that. Just don't ask me what I spend a month on keeping my enormous zoo well fed.
Edited by graemel on Sunday 2nd October 23:04
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