Every evening, we hear a fox barking around the local neighbourhood. Well last night I was in bed, and heard it out the front. Looked out the window, and I saw the fox crossing our road heading for the fields opposite. Two other foxes were waiting to meet it in the garden besides the fields. Then I saw a fourth fox running down the road and into our front garden!!!

I am really reluctant to let my boys ever go outside with packs of foxes around!! I know many people say they don't harm cats, but this isn't just one or two foxes, it's whole packs. My kittens could be very feisty boys if challenged by an enemy, but even a fully grown cat would be terrified of 4 foxes... maybe they should be indoor cats?????????

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RIP Charcoal my shy girl 1987-2000, Patch the wanderer 1987-?, Tabby my darling fluffball 1988-2002 & Panda the rascal 1988-2008

I believe that keeping cats indoors is a clever solution.. Both of mine are indoor only and would never let them out.. The thought of them getting hurt would destroy me..
How would you feel if your cats didnt come home one day? I know that if it was me I would have only myself to blame.. Better be safe than sorry.
I also dont necessarily agree with letting ur cat out cos of their nature.. My cats are the most affectionate, loving little creatures and I believe they are as happy as they could be.. Letting them out wouldnt improve on anything..

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It's true that my 2 are very happy especially now they have each other, and so far they seem content to just look out of the window, but my previous 4 cats loved going out and playing in the garden, especially on summer evenings! So it would be a shame if they can't go out. But we didn't have many foxes back then!!

Mine are very loving and affectionate too, but most cats can stand up for themselves, and Jumpy can certainly make enough noise if he doesn't want to be held!

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RIP Charcoal my shy girl 1987-2000, Patch the wanderer 1987-?, Tabby my darling fluffball 1988-2002 & Panda the rascal 1988-2008

Foxes do not form, nor hunt in packs, so arent going to gang up and hunt cats down. You may get family groups, but hunting is always done on a solitary basis.

This is a good site to read on fox behaviour The fox website | Ecology | Social life

I personally, and from experience, do not feel a fox poses any threat to a healthy cat. In fact i have found *most* to be extremely wary of them. One of my cats will attack foxes and has chased of the locall badger a couple of times.

If its something you are going to worry about, then keep them as indoor cats, and maybe build a pen in your garden to they can have a safe outdoor area to access.

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Mine have a cat flap to come and go as they please, they never go anyfurther than my garden thankfully but at night they are shut in and put to bed. As for foxes not harming cats maybe have a look at this link Fierce debate sparked after kitten is mauled to death by fox (From Epsom Guardian)
This happened just round the corner from me. I have seen foxes 3 of them circling a cat before now on the green across the road from me i must admit i chased them of then sat watch for a while to make sure they didn't come back.

i'd be far more concerned about other hazards that a free roaming cat has to face, people and traffic are much more dangerous than a fox...to keep your cats safe from real dangers why not cat proof your garden?

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"If the wolf is to survive, the wolf haters must be outnumbered. They must be outshouted, out financed, and out voted. Their narrow and biased attitude must be outweighed by an attitude based on an understanding of natural processes."
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We have doomed the Wolf not for what it is, but for what we have deliberately and mistakenly perceived it to be..the mythologized epitome of a savage, ruthless killer..which is, in reality no more than a reflexed images of ourself." -Farley Mowat

Unfortunately, my 2 (both BSH) would probably rather play with the enemies than fight lol

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Yes, foxes have been known to kill cats so it's wise to keep them indoors at night. This happened a friend of mine ( during the day in Surrey as well ) who managed to get her to the vets for surgery on time and thankfully she was saved. In urban areas these attacks are more common as alternative food sources have become depleted. The advent of wheelie bins for one thing had lead to an increase in attacks on felines.

I guess what I might do is wait until early summer (May or June) when the evenings are much lighter, and the weather is getting really nice, and then see if they want to start going out. Treacle will be nearly a year old then, and Jumpy will be 9 months, so they will be bigger. They can spend long evenings in the garden then hopefully want to come in at nightfall.

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RIP Charcoal my shy girl 1987-2000, Patch the wanderer 1987-?, Tabby my darling fluffball 1988-2002 & Panda the rascal 1988-2008

Ok, from reading this:- Year of the fox 1: From January to December - I think that what I saw last night was the parent foxes chasing last year's cubs from the nest!! It says they do this alot in January! The 2 foxes going into the fields, pursued by another, were slightly smaller, although looked adult. That must mean the other 2 foxes (who came from and to my garden!!) must be a mating pair nesting either in our garden or more likely in the overgrown alley behind..... This would explain their behaviour, but it also makes it very hard for me to decide whether I can safely let the kittens out in the spring

By April and even May, the foxes will likely have another young litter of cubs, and if either of my cats attempted to approach them or enter the nest, I don't like to think what the parent foxes would do.

Very scary post here... from http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/fo...ic-cats-2.html
One of our cats (a 15 year old female) was taken by a fox last night. The whole thing was caught on security camera and I can assure you she was not bothering cubs or anything like that. Completely opportunistic attack by the fox as it strolled past and clocked her under a bush.

Seen a few interactions over the past months of the the fox and our cats, but usually in the presence of our male cat (who is pretty hefty) and it all seemed completely non-threatening.

Bottom line, and worth bearing in mind at this time of year if any of your cats are a bit frail; if the fox has cubs to feed and stumbles across a fight/meal it thinks it can win easily, it won't hesitate to take on a cat. And it will win.

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RIP Charcoal my shy girl 1987-2000, Patch the wanderer 1987-?, Tabby my darling fluffball 1988-2002 & Panda the rascal 1988-2008