RichSPK

My very old, frail indoor cat got out last year and was missing for a couple days. Shortly before I got her to come back in, I saw her having a similar staring contest with a fox. She didn't seem particularly concerned.

The fox seemed to be in good spirits, and was about the same size as my cats, but I'd prefer to keep them separate.

rumrunn6

I remember reading when predators size up potential prey they consider the energy expenditure vs reward. meaning an easy small meal is better than a large hassle. our cats are definitely as big as this little fox & would be a huge hassle, either fighting back or climbing a tree, but the fox will likely grow larger, & like you I prefer to keep them separated. if all 3 Maine Coon cats are out together the fox is less likely to hassle any of them, but there are no guarantees. a cpl weeks ago I saw all 3 cats at the back door intently watching something. it was "little red" just came up w the fox's nickname, cute huh? anyway, I looked in the woods. they were watching him/her on the ground rolling around like a cat would, rubbing against a fallen log. kinda cute. I grabbed my camera bit it must have seen me at the door cuz it took off. weird how they don't hiss & cat-call, etc to/for the fox like they do when interloper cats wander by. then all hell breaks out!

EDIT: "When asked the question ‘will foxes kill my cat’ they had this to say: It’s possible but very unlikely. A typical urban fox home range can be also occupied by upwards of 100 cats, and most of these are out at night. Foxes and cats meet many times every night, and invariably ignore each other. When a fight does break out, it’s often the fox that comes off worse in the encounter."

"the fox is an opportunist and would have preyed on something they considered weaker (his cat, as well as being old, was completely deaf). The natural prey of a fox is not a cat and in most cases a fox would not attempt to kill a healthy cat especially one that could defend itself.

"Foxes are among the most amenable, least aggressive mammals you could share your environment with"

but foxes get more dangerous during cubbing season "Cubbing starts when the Harvest is in, which is usually late August, and it runs until the end of October"

https://cat-behaviour-and-cat-groomi...-anita-kelsey/

& then of course, there's youtube. this is comforting

seypat

That's a great picture! It should be one of those "add a caption" photos.

dmanders

Roxy and Henry, our abyssinians .

rumrunn6

ok here is Little Red. it is standing sideways with it's right side facing the camera. it's head is turned to the right looking right at me but a little tree is blocking a view of the whole face. all I can make out is ears & one eye. the shutter clicked once & then it ran off. hind quarters to the left. rear legs obscured. tail not visible. head toward the right. ears sticking up. grayish legs below. told you it was a really bad photo

Bikedued

Winnie all grown up now. She is going on two this upcoming holiday season. That look is pure predator. Thankfully she topped out at 8.5 pounds, lol. She's currently in the "loaf of bread" position down by my feet.,,,,BD

Sir_Name 

Millie. She loves the bike room for some reason.

non-fixie 

rumrunn6

oh, that's a framer!

non-fixie 

Not as nice in terms of composition, but more interesting from a logistics point of view: how did he get there? (Below him is a staircase, i.e. a 10 ft drop.)

ksryder

Because laws of physics (like all laws) don't apply to cats.

rumrunn6

whoa! haha awesome!

rumrunn6

& they probably have a different fear threshold. meaning, they look down & don't see a problem, they just go for it

RichSPK

The laws of physics are very commendable, but the only law that applies to cats is the law of cats. -- Malcolm Turncat

jsven59

Mia, she likes her martinis dirty.....

1989Pre 

This thread belongs in Foo. (I mean, it was custom-made for it).

Jeff Wills

I agree. This is the true Foo.

There's an old thread on Foo about me picking names for a couple new kittens. We eventually settled on Mango and Pumpkin, partially for the administrator MangoPumpkin. Here they are at 4 1/2 years old:

juvela

[QUOTE=non-fixie;19779673]Not as nice in terms of composition, but more interesting from a logistics point of view: how did he get there? (Below him is a staircase, i.e. a 10 ft drop.)

[/QUOTE

Probably went to the window out of boredom as there was no fiets in the repair stand...

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noglider 

I started it as a joke, but it has taken on its own life.

non-fixie 

You seem to be successful at that. Your Grant Petersen thread made it to thirteen pages, with nothing but the man's name posted to kick it off. You may have missed your vocation.

noglider 

I had forgotten about that.

PilotFishBob 

Waking it up again (why not?), my two hairballs. They take turns using each other as pillows...

thinktubes 

Damien, wrapped in the blanket my wife knitted for him. It's in the 50s here in Chicago.

beance

Purrfect thread for bikers with cattitude.

SJX426 

[IMG]Lee, on Flickr[/IMG]