Ain’t it the truth.
I agree that cats should be safe from foxes, especially when there are plenty of squirrels and/or rabbits around. Cats are much more able to fight back. Our cats stay indoors, but if a Fox made a move toward one of them their dog would show why that wasn’t a good idea.
We’ve seen foxes in my city, right in the middle of town.
I saw a show on urbanized animal populations, like turkey vultures in downtown Miami. It said there are more foxes in London than the countryside. Can’t provide a cite, as I forget the name of the show.
Foxes make good pets if you selectively breed them for several generations, I think it’s important to remember that in these situations.
In Texas, dogs like are are controlled by the Shoot-Shovel-ShutUp doctrine.
I would be much more worried about that cat being killed by a coyote than a fox. Coyotes kill many outdoor cats nowadays, and you almost certainly do have them in your neighborhood even if you haven’t seen them. Coyotes have learned to live in human habitats very well over the last few years and are now widely distributed all over the country. There are even coyotes living in dense urban areas like Chicago. You may not notice them because they usually hide during the day, but they come out at night to hunt.
If you guys don’t want that cat to suddenly disappear, I strongly recommend trapping it and trying to keep it inside. Most outdoor cats live much shorter lives than indoor cats do because of these kinds of issues.
We’re across the river from you in the Glenville area. We live in a neighborhood, but there is wildlife all around the place, we see deer and turkeys regularly, foxes and skunks occasionally, not to mention the ubiquitous chipmunks and squirrels…our neighborhood is full of outside cats, the next door neighbor cats hunt chipmunks in my yard…I’ve never heard of anyone losing a cat to a fox, not to say it wouldn’t happen, more likely one would never know…
I personally witnessed two cats being run over in front of my house last year, which, while unusual, would make me think cars are a bigger concern for cats in our neighborhood…
I wouldn’t worry. There are some foxes in my parents neighborhood, a mother and five nearly-grown cubs. They keep their tiny, old cat inside most of the time (easy, since she doesn’t want to do more than hang out in the back yard and nibble on grass) and watch the little foxes run around and play. Those things are super cute and make me want one as a pet. The only person who has any worries is the guy who feeds the squirrels. They also keep the rat population down.
We see foxes in my suburban neighborhood all the time. One treed a feral cat in my back yard recently, so they will certainly take on a cat, even the tough ones.
Tiny nitpick, foxes have kits not cubs.