Dog's new friends

How lovely! I wonder what on earth the fox cubs are making of her ...

Don't know, vegas. I would have thought the vixen would be there with them at midday and put a stop to it by shifting them, but obviously not. My next door neighbour isn't a great nature lover - he cut some low branches from the ancient oak tree at the end of our shared path because he didn't like the spiders webs on them. They were beautiful! I hope he gives the cubs some space for a few weeks.

What a miserable so and so. Perhaps tell him that all the while the foxes are there, they will prevent rats from nesting under the decking.

Good thinking, vegas. I'll claim to have seen a rat if he objects to the fox cubs!

Reminds me of some of our neighbours when we first moved to Cornwall. House Martins used to nest on some of the houses - never on ours though and I was so appalled by the number of people who just used to knock the nests down.
I'd pay money to have fox cubs in my garden (think some of the cats might leave home though!)

Foxes, badgers, muntjac and my cats all hang out together in my garden. They seem quite comfortable in each others' company. Who needs a TV when they set off my outside light?

At the [earlier] mention of squirrels I was only saying the other day that there are no squireels in my garden. This is unheard of and I'm quite confused by it as I'm surrounded by pine trees.

Are you hoping for red or grey ones, Tegan? Does your area still have red ones? They prefer pine woods.

Oh, no chance of red ones [I've never seen one, even when I go to Cragside they hide away from me]. But, blow me, when I was getting in the car this afternoon one ran along the fence. I've always had grey ones in the garden [squireels; another typo..they're getting worse].

DD1's cat who is staying with us just now brought in a baby bird earlier. I managed to capture it and thought putting it high up in a conifer hedge would be a safe place as I didn't want to,leave it on the ground or exposed. The cat brought it back into the house an hour later, this time, dying. It is presently in my utility room in a shoe box waiting for the inevitable to happen. I know,it's nature etc but it is really upsetting.

We have squirrels who arrive in our garden every morning from the big park further down the Road,Poppy seems to think they are her "personal & private friends" and sits waiting for them at 7ish every morning they do not run from her just sit and munch on the nut kernels that we leave out for them.

Is Poppy a dog or cat glamma? Unusual behavour isn't it? A few years ago, when we had 2 cats, they were both rather scared of the squirrels and gave them a wide berth.
Fox cubs are lovely whenim64 [ I know not all welcome them]. A week ago, after the GDC left in the evening, I was tidying up the garden and saw a furry thing lying at the end of our drive, went towards it when a fox appeared, it's a long drive, and the fox reached the soft toy before I did, picked it up and trotted off with it in his mouth.I didn't chase it, no point, too fast for me, and it vanished over a small wall and into the churchyard opposite.I keep quite a few soft toys here for the DGC so didn't worry about losing one, but did wonder what the rest of the fox family would think when it reached the den and dropped it's prize in front of them, a medium sized pale blue 'Igglepiggle'. Mrs Fox may shriek ' but I sent you out for a rabbit you idiot!' men and shopping eh? We have regular fox visitors now, but didn't until about 2 years ago, I quite like seeing them about.

Well, the fox cubs are still around and the neighbours are back from their holidays. Their grandchildren were playing on their decking yesterday and shrieking whilst jumping in and out of their paddling pool. I told her that the cubs might be there for a bit longer and she said 'well, I'm not telling D - he'll be pulling his face if he thinks foxes are under there. I'll just keep him out of the way!' She puts food down at the end of the garden for them now. I'm puzzled to know that they haven't been shifted by the vixen. She must be used to the suburban lifestyle!

Glad to hear that the fox family is thriving. Perhaps she hasn't moved them away from the house because she can see the TV from there and wants to watch the football

I like seeing them around now and then, but I wouldn't encourage them by feeding them.
Agus you are right, it is the most upsetting aspect of cat owning, seeing all the carnage they cause to wildlife, even though it's a natural instinct.

Roses, your fox story

my dog's new friends at the moment are all in the same ward as him in hospital!!! Started off with d&s which the vet confirmed but he took a turn for the worst this morning and he ended up in hospital with his bloods being taken now he is on a drip - luckily the vets still think it is a very bad dose of a gastric bug probably something he ate.

We were in Devon last week and on the last day pottering around on a beach I realized that I couldn't see him so wondered round a rock and there he was finishing up something - yum yum goodness knows what so may have been that.

Unluckily our insurance is not for lifetime ( will rectify that asap) so we have to take the hit - goodbye holiday in September!!!!

dustyangel I know the fox story sounds bizarre, but over on the chat thread under 'odd phenomenom' I see that Elegran says the local foxes have a penchant for socks and shoes that they find! The mind boggles.

They were seen taking home a stuffed toy tiger cub too - something for the little ones to play with? I suppose shoes and gardening gloves smell good and can be chewed. Not that they need any toys, they have plenty of fun practicing their stalking techniques and catching and chewing each other.

Maybe that's it Elegran toys for the little ones! My DH thinks it's because they just take things first and investigate them later, however I prefer the first idea.

I was surprised on morning to see a big dog fox sitting sunning himself in front of my shed. When my former neighbour had chickens, they were taken several times and she thought there was a vixen on the other side of the brook, feeding cubs. I often hear them at night, but they don't frequent my jungle garden.

Not when you are looking, Anno but the chances are that your garden is part of the territory of a fox or a pair (maybe the big dog fox who felt secure enough to sunbathe?) and they check it out regularly.

You need my motion-sensor camera set up for twentyfour hours to catch everything passing by. You might be surprised.

What an interesting event When, it sounds fun. I especially like Mrs Neighbour subversively feeding the cubs, and not telling Mr N.

I think the foxes have moved as my dog has stopped snuffling under the fence to look for them in the last couple of days. Maybe they'll return when it's their turn to raise a family. A vixen used to whelp in my far back garden where her cubs could play in complete privacy. It would be nice to think these cubs are related in some way.