Do Foxes Eat Cats?- Exploring The Fox vs Cat Relationship

“Do foxes eat cats?”- This is sometimes a very daunting question thought for the urban dwellers that have a pet kitty and are aware of the existence of urban foxes nearby. The relationship of fox vs cat isn’t very amiable with the usual bigger predator dominance theory being relevant here. If you are unsure that will a fox eat a cat, read this article where we explore the probability of a fatal encounter between foxes and cats and how to save your cat from them.

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Some info on the foxes

The Vulpes vulpes specie of foxes has come down to being called the ‘Urban foxes’ because of the remarkable success they made in adapting to the urban environments and dwelling relatively peacefully with humans. The grey and red foxes are quite a common sight in the backyards of city houses as compared to the rural areas. This can be attributed to the presence of an ample amount of food sources in the cities, pets, unfortunately, being one of them.

Let’s see some of their behavioral aspects and other habits.

Dietary habits

They eat various things and that is why the question ‘do fox eat cats’ become relevant. Other than small animals and birds, they also consume insects, worms, veggies, fruits, etc. You may also find them eating from the litter cans that have items like cooked meat, pet food, savory items, etc.

Foxes are also known to bury extra food supply at different places and come back for it later.

Major personality traits

Foxes are usually afraid of people and this is why they go out at night mostly. They also deter away upon detecting any human presence. They are mostly harmless unless they see potential food source and that is what compels you to think ‘do foxes eat cats’.

It might sound surprising but foxes can be friendly too and can jell up nice with dogs and cats. You can even pet them!

Common habitats

The foxes mostly dig up dens at the deserted places in city areas and also keep moving indefinite periods. They mostly keep their kits safe in the den and move out once they grow up.

Health threatening signs

Rabid foxes are sure a potential threat to humans and pets but the infection rate is very low along with effective treatment availability. Look for such dangerous signs:

Mutilation marks
Any paralysis condition
Staggering motion
Aggressive behavior
Unusual tamed behavior

Mangas, Toxocara Canis, Ear canker, etc. are some common diseases in a fox that can be a threat to domestic pets.

Fox vs cat- A multi-faceted relation

To begin with, the physical similarities between foxes and cats might make you think that they must be friendly with each other that is clearly not the case always. Let us explain a little about the similarities:

Both of these animals become more active in the dark as their vertical pupils allow vision in the dark.
They hunting manner is also quite the same where they stalk the prey followed by pouncing on them.
Both have an elegant tread that involves a toe walk.
The tongues of both animals are very sensitive with the special spines and whiskers.
Both of them can climb on the trees and even sleep there.

If you are unsure about ‘do foxes attack cats’, the possibility varies. Foxes might ignore the cats usually but turn out to be the fatal attacker in case of a fight or food hunt. As is understandable from the similarities, any adult cat might be the physical equivalent of a fox and pose an equal threat with self-defense fight capabilities.

Pet cats are easy prey as compared to street cats due to the lack of retorting capacities. Very small cats or kittens are the most common victims.

Some facts related to fox and cat tussle

It would be wrong to completely rule out the possibility of foxes attacking the cats, be them wild or pet. A considerable number of fox bites or fox kills of the cats keep getting reported and it is something genuine to instill concern in the pet cat owners about their safety. Let us then present some facts related to the threat of foxes attacking cats, based on the instincts of foxes.

Fox vs cat fight is as rare as three in ten thousand cases of fox fights.
The cats are more prone to fatal fights with other cats rather than foxes.
Car roll-overs are another major cause of cat deaths as compared to fox attacks.
Most of the stories related to cats dying in animal fights are misinterpreted and foxes are made an unfair criminal.
There may emerge cases of fox packs killing a cat when they go out to explore new habitats.
The natural diet of foxes doesn’t include cats as a food item. They are predators, yes, but they prefer smaller rodents, insects, and worms.
Red foxes are the bigger and more common threat to cats.

Aspects of the fox and cat struggle

Despite being the biologically superior predator, foxes can still have competition from the cats due to the major similarities and basic instincts.

Foxes do get threatened by the sharp teeth and claws of the cats that can seriously injure the foxes. Although dead cats can become the food of foxes if nothing else is available, it is highly lunatic to think do foxes eat cats after purposeful killing.

You will rarely come to know about a fox hunting down cats. They will kill a cat if it accidentally comes in sight when they are super hungry.

It is also to note that cats aren’t usually scared of foxes unless timid. Conversely, foxes aren’t scared of cats too as cats are never the first troublemakers and only show up if the fox tries to mess up. The major possibilities lie in cats getting wounded, sometimes severely, by the foxes during encounters.

The cats of urban areas fall victim to the foxes mostly in cases when the foxes come in search of food. They believe that getting food won’t be a difficulty but the well-kept areas have no litter or food trash and this is where they tend to chase the small animals thereby.

Cautionary measures to save cats from fox attacks

If nothing can fix your paranoia about ‘do foxes eat cats’ situations, here are some tips to prevent and deal with them.

If you are especially paranoid about fox attacks, keep the cats indoors at all costs. Take special care of the sick cats in this case.
Be careful about the kittens too until they are old enough.
If your cat loves outdoors, you may try fencing their roaming area to keep the foxes from entering.
You can use certain repellents or scare devices to keep the foxes away. Try sensitive alarms, sprinklers, loud noises, domestic garden repellents, etc that can give great results.
You can also harass the foxes with mild tricks like disturbing their habitats, blocking the entrance, etc to discourage them from visiting.
A fox bitten cat must be immediately taken to the clinic as per the injury severity. This is also important to rule out the possibility of any infectious disease getting transferred in case the attacker fox was sick. If you ignore this, the accident might prove fatal to the cat for which the fox won’t be directly responsible.

Conclusion

We hope to have relived your anxiety about ‘do foxes eat cats’ by giving all the major aspects of the fox vs cat tussle. We don’t say that your cat is fully safe from a roaming fox but is certainly mostly safe from them. It is more important that you protect them from the real threats rather than obsessing on ‘will a fox eat a cat’.

Luna Tran

My name is Luna and I am a great cat lover and a cat owner of three lovely cats. I have owned many cats till now and have dedicated many years to nurturing and caring cats. Through this blog, I am here to share my knowledge and experience about cats.