My Cat was attcked by a Fox...?

Question

3 Nights ago we heard a horrible noise coming from our back garden and ran out to see a Fox drop our Cat. The Fox ran off and my Cat ran indoors. She was shocked for a few hours but i checked her thoroughly and she had no swelling or pain anywhere and within a few hours she was curled up in my lap sleeping soundly.

In the morning when i went into the garden there was a large amount of her hair been pulled out there and she has a few small scratches on her back.

I know she is Very Lucky but i have a few questions...

Why did the Fox attack her? She is a small Cat of 14 years?

How can i prevent this happening again?

Is there any diseases i should be worried about her having contracted?!

Any info will be appreciated.

Cat

Answer 1

It would be highly improbable for a fox to attack a cat unless it had rabies.  Therefore, kitty needs to see a vet. Even though rabies is passed on in the saliva, you never know.

How can you prevent this from happening again? either set traps but there is the risk that the cat will fall, or keep the cat inside. She is a senior kitty any way, so she will need special attention and treatment real soon. I would take her to the vet ASAP.  

Answer 2

We had a fox in our neighborhood and I wrote a note to the local DNR. Here is the responce:

Generally cats can get away from fox. Coyotes will kill them, but they're about the same size as fox and can climb trees to get away from them. Any time your pet escapes, there is the possibility that something could harm it, i.e. dogs, coyotes, cars. It's a chance they take when the escape from the safety of the home.

Suellen Rau, Supervisor

Information Center

MN Department of Natural Resources

Bureau of Information & Education

500 Lafayette Rd

St. Paul, MN 55155-4040

651/296-6157

[e-mail]

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Thanks for the info sue!

One more thing. We have a cat (de-clawed) who likes to escape out the deck door and sometimes stay out overnight. Will these two animals confront each other?

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There isn't much you can do but keep your pet inside.

Answer 3

Fox bites are like cat bites and can produce a nasty infection and in addition foxes may suffer from mange which they get from domestic dogs. I would take her to the vet, just to be on the safe side.

You are quite right, there is no rabies in the UK, so that isn't an issue.

Who knows why the attack happened - it's very rare but the fox may be absolutely starving and/or have cubs to feed and be desperate.

For the time being perhaps you should accompany your cat on its evening walks. You could try feeding the fox, but that is entirely your decision - if it is just hungry it will solve the problem but will also attract it to your garden.

Answer 4

Foxes are vicious and will attack things just for the fun of it. It is what farmers have said for years - that foxes are dangerous to other animals and will attack for no reason. IMO Enid Blyton has a lot to answer for because foxes are not cute little forest creatures. They are nasty predators.

There will be some diseases that she has been exposed to. A quick search on the internet brings up "toxocariasis, Weil's disease, hydatid disease, sarcoptic mange, fleas and rabies" although I don't know whether these things affect cats or not. I am also in UK and apparently rabies has been eradicated from the animal population so you should be safe on that one.

I suggest you take her to the vet even if she seems fine. The vet will know more about what she is at risk from. Also, there may be injuries that are not noticeable but which could be pretty serious. One of my cats was attacked by a badger and although she seemed fine if a bit shaken, she died a few weeks later from internal damage that we had not known about. (Badgers are also very vicious animals)

If the fox is visiting your garden regularly then you need to take some steps to protect your cat in future. There are lots of humane ways to deal with the nuisance from foxes, water sprayers and scented granules you can out down to stop them coming onto your land. Maybe you could supervise your cat outside for a couple of days to make sure that she is not attacked again.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

I have always been led to believe a fox has to be desperate to attack a cat, if true your cat has been unlucky. If there are no puncture wounds or swelling and your cat seems well I would advise only to bathe scratches in a saline solution to keep them clean until they heal. I would keep her in at night since she apparently can't defend herself against foxes. I hope she is soon over her ordeal.  

Answer 6

You can prevent this from happening again BY NOT LEAVING YOUR CAT OUT AT NIGHT!

Foxes are adept killers of cats, especially older cats and kittens. A fox is an opportunist and if it fancies its chances against an older, slower cat it will have a go if it's hungry enough. I've known it to happen before and it upsets me to see cats left out at night. Cats may be nocturnal hunters themselves but in the wild they are not at the top of the food chain. This applies equally to domestic cats when there are foxes around.

Seeing that your cat is small and 14 years of age, you should be taking precautions to ensure her safety. Imagine how you'd feel if that fox had taken your cat. I hope you have learned a lesson from this, and that goes for anyone else who reads this who leaves their cat(s) out at night.

I'm glad your cat is safe now. It must have been traumatic for you both.  

Answer 7

get her tested for rabies immediately!

edit: just looked it up on wikipedia and Britain is rabies-free. oops. still, there might be other blood-borne diseases that your cat might have contracted.

Answer 8

This happened because foxes are carnivores and it was looking for something to eat...mainly your cat. Which tells us why cats should not be allowed outside.

You're lucky she is alive.

Watch those scratches. Clean them with hydrogen peroxide. Foxes are nasty and can carry rabies.

Keep your cat inside and it won't happen again.

Answer 9

You ever hear of the cliched animosity between cats and dogs?  Well, the Fox is a member of the canine family, and it is a cousin to dogs, so its only natural it would have hostility towards felines.  You may want to get her checked out for rabies; with any wild animals that is always a problem, and absolutely you should take her to the vet.  With wild animals you don't know where those teeth or claws have been.

good luck.

Answer 10

fox hunting is the solution!

Answer 11

1. the fox attacked coz of teretory

2. dont let her out passed 7 pm at night

3. Shes getting to be an old lady now so she cant fight so it may be an idea to get cctv so u cant let her out in the day and see whats happerning.

4. get to know when the fox comes round ie time and make a banging noise when u see it to scare it off.

i dont know about the diseases sorry x

Answer 12

Please have her checked out by your vet and have her rabies shot boosted. This can be prevented by keeping your cat inside especially at night.  It will be hard at first but keeping her in will prevent this from happening again.  

Good Luck