Lora Lee 
This past weekend, we had a very sad and stressful wildlife encounter. we live in the middle of six acres of woods. Because of that we have a lot of wildlife that have made our woods their home. For the most part, I am completely happy with our wildlife neighbors. I absolutely love watching the squirrels run and play. The songs of the many birds have a calming effect. Watching the deer thrive on our land brings me joy. Over the past couple of months, we have had some foxes grace our property, along with their cubs. It was absolutely amazing to watch mommy fox teaching her cub how to “fox”. And then, this weekend, we had a dose of the harsher side of living among the wildlife when we had our sad and stressful wildlife encounter.
Poor Mr. Fox
Late Saturday afternoon, we were sitting out on our screen porch, enjoying the beautiful day. My husband called my attention to a fox that was on one of our walkways. He was biting and tearing at the boxes that our new patio furniture came in. I thought it was a little odd but didn’t really think too much about it. Some of my cats like to bite at boxes and tear little pieces off. I thought that maybe this was a type of normal fox behavior. Then, I noticed how the fox was moving. Definitely not typical fox movements. Very slow and a little uncoordinated. We tried to contact animal control, but they were closed. By this time the fox had moved on. Or so I thought.
Over the next few hours, the fox would reappear. He was acting very restless. He would move from biting the boxes near the house to biting at some items we had in front of our garage to just sitting or lying down. It was all so weird and definitely not normal. At this point, we had put in calls to numerous calls to 24-hour wildlife resources. All with no response. Apparently, 24 hours doesn’t mean 24 hours. Finally, around 10:30 on Saturday night, the fox disappeared. But not before he walked slowly by the screen porch and made eye contact with me for a long time. I knew then that this poor fox was suffering and needed help. I could see the pain and confusion that he was dealing with. It killed me to not be able to help him.
Crossed a Line
I did not sleep well Saturday night. I was very restless and kept thinking about the poor fox that had asked for my help. Upon waking up, I instantly looked outside for him. I did see quite a few squirrels playing, which meant that the area was fox free. However, I did have my husband go out to the Cat House with me. I had a feeling that Mr. Fox was not completely gone. After feeding and letting the Cat House cats out onto their screen porch, we took a very cautious walk around the house to see if we saw him anywhere. We thought everything was safe and that the fox had moved on. We thought wrong.
A little later, I noticed him walking around the Cat House. Next thing I knew, the cats were freaking out on the screen porch, and he was on the stairs trying to get into the porch to them. I freaked out. We ran out there, trying to get him away from their house. I needed to check on them and secure them back in the house. We were yelling and throwing rocks at him. And he was not leaving. He just sat near the stairs for a long time.
Eventually, he started to move away and headed towards our lean- to attached to the garage. I quickly ran into their house to check on them. Needless to say, they were completely freaked out. Unharmed but very freaked out. I locked and shut their door and came back out to track the fox and come up with a game plan to help this poor fox. I still had a lot of sympathy for him, but he had crossed a line by going after my cats.
A Very Sad Ending
Being that it was a Sunday, Animal Control was still closed. We had to call 911 and explain to them our emergency. They were able to dispatch an Animal Control officer to our house. I just had to wait and keep my eyes on the fox until the officer showed up. Luckily the fox was very slow moving and tended to keep to a certain radius of our house. Right before the officer arrived, the fox walked into a wooded area near our creek. I knew that he wouldn’t go any further. And while, rabies did cross my mind, after my eye contact moment with him, I felt confident that rabies was not what was affecting this poor fox.
When the officer showed up, we explained the incidents that had been happening. He confirmed that the fox was not dealing with the effects of rabies. He was pretty confident it was a case of distemper. I had absolutely no idea that foxes could get distemper, but I guess it does make sense. We showed the officer the area that he went into and sure enough, there was the poor fox. Just sitting there looking at us. The Animal Control officer had his trapping gear and was able to quickly catch and trap the fox. Sadly, the poor fox would have to be humanely euthanized. I felt so bad for him, but he was suffering, and it was the best thing for him. I sent him a lot of energy for a smooth transition. It was so sad. Unfortunately, that is the harsh reality of living alongside of nature.
The Cat House cats are ok. Just really freaked out. Poor Tre didn’t leave the loft area at all yesterday. he finally came down this morning. I spent a long time out there with them, calming them and reassuring them that they were safe and apologized to them. I shouldn’t have allowed them onto their screen porch until I was absolutely sure that the fox was not around. It is always a risk having outdoor cats. I take pride in the precautions I have in place to keep mine safe. I realized yesterday that sometimes, precautions may not be enough. And that does scare me.
“They may not be as intelligent as us, but they certainly know pain, fear, loneliness and love. They too can suffer, and they too can be happy.” – Peter Singer, Animal Liberation.
