Any ideas on how to stop foxes chasing my cats???

[Nosha123]

Cant remember if I have asked this before....
ANyhooo

My two 1 year old kitties (white birmans) are naughty to say the least. .and one has obviously found a local fox den, presumably with cubs.... I dont think he's interested in attacking them - but just being stupidly nosey and sniffing around...

Well - almost DAILY he is being chased the full length of our garden at FULL SPEED by an adult fox (or foxes).
I pray to god he keeps running fast and doesnt get caught....
What on earth can I do (if anything) to stop this? I worry he is going to get attacked and killed or injured...

[andy-hughes]

beattie 819 - it is a myth that foxes kill for 'fun'.

Foxes kill for food like all wild predators. If there is one hen, the fox will kill it and take it away. If there are half a dozen, he will take one away, and come back for the rest which he will bury for future consumption. This often leads to the sight of dead hens left, and the fox nowhere to be seen - he will not return if there is fresh human scent near his kills.

Like all predators, foxes are opportunists - if they have a chance to kill more prey, they will take it, that is survival instinct, and the notion of some sort of sadism is a myth encouraged by country people who regard foxes as vermin.

Foxes are killers, but only for food, not for 'fun' - that is far to sophisticated a concept for an animal to understand. After all, how often do you hear fozes laughing as they run away?

[andy-hughes]

Nosha123 - it would appear that the foxes are merely protecting their young, and are more intent on your cats leavonmg their den alone than actually killing them.

Hopefully you cats will learn their lesson in time, because an annoyed fox may decide to sort them out once and for all if he gets in range. as far as preventing the chase, you only have control over your cats, the fox will do as it feels it must - that's nature.

[RATTER15]

Well said Andy. beattie is talking nonsense, I used to be a Pest Controller and would shoot fox on occasions, I would not shoot this fox in question as all she is doing is protecting her cubs, to shoot her would be cruel, you would also then have to shoot her cubs or they would starve, leave her alone.

It may be harsh but the kittens will learn, the fox is not likely to catch or harm them.

[Zeuhl]

<<My Dad was a poultry farmer. Foxes killed over 200 chickens>>

sorry beattie, but your dad failed in his responsibilities to look after those birds - it was his fault and maybe that realisation was why he was so upset.

foxes are wonderful creatures designed by nature to catch food that is naturally elusive in the most difficult circumstances.

If human beings breed a bird that is just a meal on legs, incapable of defending itself or flying and then traps hundreds of them in a confined space where foxes can access, you can hardly blame the fox for what happens next.
.

[Nosha123]

Thanks all for your answers. I had a few days off at home and kitties seemed to stay nearer to home and didn't have Ny fox incidents. I agree... Mummy fox is just protecting her cubs. And I think the Slow kitty finds it funny to be chased... He won't for long!!! Fingers crossed thoe cubs grow up fast and move somewhere else as would hate to have to take any serious measures. I've read also that removing a fox doesn't work anyway as another will move in very quickly.