Fox and cat playing together

[Andyvon]

I saw this last night and I'm sure it is very usual. Has anyone else seen or heard of this before?

I go for a six mile walk every night as I'm an insomniac. Last night I was in town nearing home at about 2.30am when I came across a fox and cat on a large grassy mound. The night was warm and the road was quiet and lit by streetlights. The cat and fox had 'frozen' when I appeared and I stopped too about 7 or 8 yards away. After about a minute the two resumed what they were doing. While I watched, the cat started to creep up on the fox who stood watching it getting closer. When the cat was about two feet from the fox, the fox jumped in the air and the cat did the same. They then 'boxed' with their paws for a few seconds and then scampered round and round chasing each other in a circle. After about 10 seconds they stopped and did the whole thing over again. I watched for a few minutes and then walked away while they continued to play.

I told my aunt this today and she said that cats and foxes grow up in the same environment (peoples' gardens etc) so I shouldn't be too surprised. I could also tell that the cat and fox were youngsters so maybe they won't play and associate so closely when they get older. What struck me was how neither animal was concerned by my presence. It's understandable of the cat - but the fox wasn't bothered either! Both animals were having a whale of a time.

Was this an unusual thing to see or is it more common than I think?

[LoftyLottie]

I have never seen a live badger either (30+ years living in the sticks), but we do see quite a few killed at the side of the road :o(.

Deer are often in the fields and woods behind us. Very occasionally had a fleeting glance at a fox usually about dawn - but again quite a few dead ones on the roadsides.

[kawakiri]

I was driving home from work one day and saw what I thought were two dogs fighting in the middle of the lane i was in. As i got closer I realised it was two badgers, I had to slow to a stop as they were that involved in what they were doing to not notice. A quick toot on the horn grabbed their attention and they stopped rolling about and looked up the ambled off into the hedgerow.
This was around 18:30 and still daylight.

[wolf63]

Andyvon - thanks for posting this. I find animal behaviour fascinating - they are more interesting than human beings.

My brother has a visiting fox - it lives in a wild area over the fence from him. They are beautiful animals.

I think that 'us humans' forget that the planet is not ours and certainly not ours to do with as we please, we are merely one of millions of other animals trying to survive and keep their species alive. We are an unworthy custodians.

[LoftyLottie]

We certainly are Wolf. Wish you had been around on Bobbi's thread earlier!!

[Andyvon]

Thanks for all the answers everyone.

I'm surprised so many people in the country say they don't see many animals. I suppose it might make sense. I live in a large town in the Chilterns surrounded by fields. From what people say it seems that wild animals in towns are more used to humans than those in the country. Territories outside town are more open with fewer people but in towns animals and people live closer together. The countryside is also darker and towns are well lit. Most people in towns love to see wildlife and they actively encourage foxes and won't threaten them. Those animals seem to have lost their fear more readily than those in the country where I think they are considered pests. I will say that our town is quiet at night with just the occasional vehicle around so animals feel safe to be out. I don't see too many badgers but I suppose I see one or two a month snuffling and trundling along the road or path. That's only if they haven't got my scent but when they realise I'm there they move away quickly. I don't often see deer but when I do it's on the road between Aylesbury and Stoke Mandeville which is surrounded by fields. I also see them in the fields when it's frosty and the moon is out along with rabbits, foxes etc. They are the fallow deer we have around here and little muntjac.

The other thing I often see in town at night are birds active in the streetlights. I often see blackbirds hopping around on grass and I saw a robin recently - all in the early hours. I also hear many birds singing throughout the night.

I'm afraid I haven't got a video camera and my phone hasn't got a camera. I'm usually ten years behind everyone else but when I get one I'll post a video if I get a chance. I have got a digital SLR stills camera. It's quite big and heavy but I might take that out soon and try to get some photos to post.

[cupid04]

A fox was eating scraps in my garden whilst my cat was less than 2 foot away, both
of them seemed quite content and at ease in each others company.Lovely to
watch.

[Andyvon]

Hi Cupid. That's what I mean. Foxes are becoming so tame now. I know many people think of foxes as vermin but I think everything has a place and a right to life and it's good to know that some species are actually thriving when so many around the world are disappearing. Where have all the moths gone at night for example? There were clouds of them at night years ago and they plastered cars. Now you just sem to see the odd one when you drive along at night. My wife and I say "There's a moth!"

I'm pleased you enjoyed your fox and cat. Long may it continue to visit.

[LoftyLottie]

Lovely thread Andy. Keep posting about your nightly nature watch jaunts.

Spring Watch is only about 1.5 miles away from where I live in Norfolk x

[ttfn]

The cat and fox sound like mad March hares! I love to drive through the New Forest really late or at dawn break. Lots of life to watch there - families of foxes with the clubs playing, large herds of deer and badgers. I drive really slowly and if I see something just stop in the road with lights dipped. The roads I travel are very quiet and the animals don't seem to be bothered. Can even see the owls perching quite low. It is quite, quite magical at times.

[LoftyLottie]

Went for a walk across the fields the other day with the dog and turned a corner around a small plantation to come face to face with a large deer. We just stood and looked at each other, I don't know who was the most surprised. Lovely really. We have marsh harriers flying around behind the house around the field and over the wood. I just love observing wildlife.

[Andyvon]

Hi ttfn,
We do the same thing in the Chilterns Hills which lie just a few minutes away. We often drive into the hills in the early hours (usually every Saturday night) when it is very quiet. We can potter along at 30 as there's no other traffic around. There is a large herd of fallow deer living on the Ashridge Estate near Ivinghoe and when we find them we stop. The deer aren't bothered by cars and we can often see 100 or more feeding, lying in the grass and standing just feet from the car. We also see so many more rabbits, foxes and badgers etc. They give themselves away when they look at the approaching car as their eyes glow and reflect the light.

I'm pleased you see lots of wildlife too. We love the New Forest too. You are very lucky to live there.

Thank you Lottie. If I see anything else worth mentioning I will. I'll try to get some pictures. I've just got so used to seeing animals all along my standard route over the years I only thought it worth mentioning when I saw the cat and fox playing and thought that was unusual.

I quite agree with you Wolf. I tried to mark yours as the Best Answer but I think I have to delete the words from the top of each post and leave yours.

[Andyvon]

Me again! The other thing you might like to hear of Lottie are all the red kites around our way. They were nearly exterminated about 30 years ago but the RSPB launched a huge breeding programme to save them. A few years ago they released them in the Chilterns as the chalk downs are ideal habitat. They have now exploded so much they are one of the most common birds around here. They now live in the town (Aylesbury) and my wife and I have a pair and their young that we see every day from our lounge. They circle round and round looking for carrion - and of course people now feed them to encourage them into their gardens! They use road kill apparently. If I go for a walk in the day I always see several pairs along the route and they sometimes fly very low overhead to have a look at you! Last year I watched 8 red kites following a tractor cutting hay. It was two pairs and their young and they were catching the animals running from the cutting.
The other animals we very occasionally see in this area are - wallabies! They live in the fields and on the downs around Whipsnade Zoo from where they first escaped in the 1930s. There aren't too many around but we do sometimes see one near the zoo.

[LoftyLottie]

Wonderful Andy. We live a stones throw from a Hawk and Owl trust reserve (featured as well on Spring Watch. Over the last ten years many more marsh harriers are breeding in the area. I used to volunteer there, but arthritics have got the better of me unfortunately. I think they have wallabies around Woburn in Bedfordshire as well - again escapees that have bred.

Something you mind find interesting. I used to live in Letchworth and the town is noted for having Black Squirrels. I have seen them on the common there on many occasions and I think they are also in other areas around Letchworth. The very first pub in Letchworth back in the 70's (it used to be a dry Quaker town) was called the Black Squirrel.

[ttfn]

Hi Andy. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. The NF is not far away and there are so many smaller roads to travel. We have most deer types here but there are few red left therefore It is a special thrill to see them. If I get to certain places before daybreak and wait for them the fallow herds will emerge from their sleeping places in the long grass. First sight of them is a plethora of antlers coming up from the ground followed by those big shoulders. The stags are magnificent. At night time there are huge herds going over the roads one by one as the crossing places through or under the fencing only accomodate single beasts. I love to see the little ones bringing up the rear, always give them plenty of space in case they panic. I have even trodden on a viper and lived to tell the tale though my sister once got bitten - left 3 nice holes on her ankle, but happily she too survived!

[Andyvon]

Kindred souls then ttfn. My aunt lives in Ferndown and we are there quite often as my wife has 'adopted' an orangutan at Monkey World. We went to Rufus Stone recently and then drove across the NF to Fordingbridge. That was a beautiful drive, although we didn't see too much wildlife in the day. Plenty of NF ponies though and we never tire of seeing them. I've never seen an adder and I believe you have to be very lucky to do so. Perhaps your sister would disagree though! Hope she was OK.

Black squirrels sound very interesting Lottie. Are they genetic mutations of the grey?

[ttfn]

My sister lives just outside Fordingbridge. Very pretty area. Her main wealth is birds - There is a pair of buzzards nesting not far away and we can watch them from her garden without binoculars. Once they hit the thermals they glide so effortlessly and are majestic. She spends a fortune on feeding birds in her garden - the greater spotted woodpecker visits several times a day and has a voracious appetite - his forte is nuts. She has nuthatches - a pair of, plus all the various finches including a bull finch and long tailed and great tits. We even managed to raise a fledgling robin last year - it fell out of the next into the puppies mouth but fortunately no damage was done. I trained the parent robin to feed from my hand - good job I am patient and can stand still. Some of the smaller birds have been taken off the feeders by sparrowhawks of course, but thankfully it is not a regular occurrence, In the evening Mr and Mrs pheasant meander up the drive and come on to the front lawn to forage for all the food which has been scattered by the smaller birds from the mulit feeders. They are in no hurry and look as if they even own the place. At one time my sister had her own pair of peacocks - noisy to say the least, and their treat was cold roast potatoes! Whatever next. And as dusk descends the bats come by in droves. Well I shall say good night until next time. ttfn

[Andyvon]

Wow - it sounds beautiful and very peaceful. Thanks ttfn.

[ttfn]

I was thinking about the vipers in the NF last night Andy. A favourite dog walk for me is at Ashley water, nr Godshill nw of Fordingbridge (made famous as a testing ground for the bouncing bomb in WWII). The area is mainly heathland and on a sunny day I have often seen the vipers sunbathing on the paths early in the morning. They have never caused me a problem and at certain times of the year I would never let the dogs off their leads to be on the safe side. I have seen the vipers curled around posts. An old lady I knew once had to leave her milk on her doorstep until afternoon when the snake had moved off back into the undergrowth. Fancy having a viper wrapped around a bottle of milk - and to think some folk used to moan about the blue tits pecking at the silver tops. My late father was once chased by a very angry viper and her brood of young when he was raking a field for spagnum moss. Poor old soul had to vault a fence to get away from her - they can show quite a formidable turn of speed when necessary. His rake stayed in the field for a few weeks before he felt like retrieving it. It shouldn't have happened to the old gent. So you see the viper is a common sight to me in the NF. My friends at Verwood have been bothered by badgers coming into their garden from the field beyond - made quite a bit of a mess of their lawn. But the badgers lived there before the housing was developed......(hope that doesn't make Lottie jealous) ttfn

[ttfn]

^ ne of Fordingbridge - my geography teacher would turn in her grave!

[Andyvon]

We'll make a point of visiting that area next time we are in the NF ttfn. Perhaps one reason I've never seen a viper is that we've never particularly looked for them. It also has to be the right time of year doesn't it.

Reptiles we have seen on several occasions at different places in the NF and along the Dorset coast are sand or green lizards which we see sunning themselves on paths and patches of sand. I'm sure you've seen plenty of those too. I know there's a viviparium at the visitor centre at Avon Heath Country Park where they have quite a few living outside in enclosures under glass.