Fox or cat??

Hi All,

I usually keep my flip flips by my back door. This morning, one was at one end of the garden and the other a few feet away from it had been chewed, not the sole of it the strap part!

Im scared that its a fox, but surely if it was a fox it would have demolished the flip flop more or tried to get into Alfie's run. There was no fox's poo or anything. Am hoping it was just a cat playing with it

What do you all think?? thanks

Im thinking that it was most likely a wild bird something like a toucan that eats shoes that are left out by unsuspecting people. They have been commonly named the 'shoecan'



I hope that he doesnt return looking for the other one. my thoughts are with you and make sure you keep your shoes indoors.

Alfie kennedy said:

Hi All,

I usually keep my flip flips by my back door. This morning, one was at one end of the garden and the other a few feet away from it had been chewed, not the sole of it the strap part!

Im scared that its a fox, but surely if it was a fox it would have demolished the flip flop more or tried to get into Alfie's run. There was no fox's poo or anything. Am hoping it was just a cat playing with it

What do you all think?? thanks

Click to expand...

A toucan??!! :shock: I didn't even think they were native to this country! :wink:

No seriously, i think its likely a fox actually, i've heard of this sort of thing before.

Its one of the signs that they are around, even if you say you've never seen them. I would be careful & ensure your rabbit runs have strong sides, lid & bottom (your average run is no match for a fox)& that you you have bolts on hutches etc.

Don't think that because it didn't demolish Alife's run that it won't...you have had a warning so be really careful.

I've never heard of toucan's before!

I think it is a fox too....hopefully it won't come back.

Luckily my bedroom is near the back door. Being such a light sleeper i would wake up if i heard any commosion.

Bunnyboarding, even if he is completely covered up would the fox still know that something was in there??

My run is wire mesh, covered in a waterproof and has about 10 bricks on, its really heavy. Plus next door neighbour has his back door open and is in and out of his garden.

Am thinking about getting one of those things that lets off a frequency that gets rid of fox's - do they work??

Thanks

the fox will still eb able to smell with your rabbit is i am afraid, a fox got into my garden and ripped open my guinea pigs cage they got my Charlie they can even climb fences, they will destroy anything in their way just so they can get food, so please please be very aware

Alfie kennedy said:

Am thinking about getting one of those things that lets off a frequency that gets rid of fox's - do they work??

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I'm not sure. We've not tried the fox one, but we did try one for mice, which did not work at all!

God, im so bloody paranoid i feel like giving away or to my mum's or something

The one thing I am always wary about these 'machines' which emit a noise at a certain frequency to ward off animals such as foxes, how do we know that the rabbits won't find these noises disturbing as well.

Have all your hutches got bolts on them to help prevent foxes opening the hutches?

Janice

fox

Hi alfie I would say that you have a fox hanging round they love playing with plastic objects...I find them all over my garden...they pinch dog toys from neighbours etc. I have a HUGE problem with the bl--dy creatures & am waging a daily battle with them so I think you should be very careful of your bunny please take it indoors or put him into a shed at night or the fox will do its level best to get him :evil: I have just had my bunny run covered over completly with wire mesh & netting to keep them out as one jumped into it & tried to take my leo luckily he screamed & I ran out & rescued him so he is O.K. now they are only out during the day when I am at home & shut up at night.

Well the run that i leave him in all day is completely covered in mesh as well as loads of bricks. I don;t want to leave him in the hutch all day.

During the night he is covered up. Unfortunately we live in a maisonette and there is no room for him to be taken in. we have no shed at present but will be getting one in the next month.

Any noise from the garden i can hear from my room, we also have a light sensor but i've heard that doesn't deter the fox's.

The fox (if it was a fox) only chewed a bit of one of the flip flops. It wasn't demolished at all that's why i thought it could have been a cat.

I don;t understand why he didn't try and do anything else?!!

fox

Hi alfie at this time of year there are a lot of young foxes looking for their own territory which may be why this one had suddenly turned up just like puppies they love to play with toys, I was watching one the other afternoon who had brought a pink rubber ball in my garden & was rolling around playing with it..it would have been amusing if it wasn,t for my bunnies being at risk :evil: I wouldn,t leave your bunny out in his run while you are out as foxes will come around during the day as well I thought that I had taken every precaution with mine but this vixen jumped over the top of my run which is 8ft. high & grabbed leo. I have now had the run covered over to stop her doing this ( I hope)please try to find somewhere you can keep your bunny that is safe I know first hand the horror of losing one to a fox this same vixen killed my tango just before xmas last year again she jumped over the top of my run they just dont give up. take care

sarattie said:

Im thinking that it was most likely a wild bird something like a toucan that eats shoes that are left out by unsuspecting people. They have been commonly named the 'shoecan'

I hope that he doesnt return looking for the other one. my thoughts are with you and make sure you keep your shoes indoors.

Click to expand...

LOL :lol:

Hi Alfie,

I have a very strong feeling you are very unaware of a fox's capabilites which is why you are asking these questions in the first place.

If i can be honest with you, it is only a matter of time before something more serious could happen.

Rabshan did quite a worrying but informative post only recently on the fox problem & i'm afraid that unless you've experienced you do doubt these things happen.

As i said on that post, i used to hear stories all the time of small pets being taken, killed or injured by foxes & i also know they said all the same things as you before the incident(s) happened.

I'm not being alarmist, but i too have first hand experience of it. IMO no rabbit is safe in a run overnight or whilst you are not there during the day.

The first sighting i ever had of foxes was one night i happened to look out of the window & two foxes were sniffing out & circling my rabbits in their hutch/run combo. They were ever so quiet but we scared them away & never put the rabbits in the run at night ever again.

I have lost a very large rabbit once to a fox BUT it was through a fox breaking into a shed via a door that was not bolted & only had bricks against it.

Even then she was maimed through the bars of a heavy duty dog cage of all things!! We found her in the morning & it broke my heart. A fox can do almost anything it wants to do. They adapt well.

Saying you will hear everything from your window is not a guarantee that nothing will happen, sometimes you simply DON'T hear anything.

A fox will smell a rabbit/prey from far away, it doesn't physically need to see it, as they rely on ALL their strong senses.

Could you buy a playhouse so that the rabbit could exercise in there overnight or when you're out??

I seem to remember someone on this site even saying that a fox went into their house through an open kitchen window and killed one of their house buns! As Cheryl says never underestimate a fox.

Even if the fox doesn't quite get at the bun it could still scare the rabbit into having a heart attack as rabbits can be very sensitive to preditors (including cats).

I've heard that dog smells are good at detering foxes but they might have to be stronger than the rabbit smell, and so renewed constantly. If you have a willing doggie friend maybe you could get some "deposits" or better still get the dog over to pee in corners, I know it sounds horrible.

Although we live on the edge of the countryside we have never had foxes near us and even the million cats in the area avoid our back garden like the plague, even though the bunnies spend a lot of time there, they share it with the dog and it seems to work. Having said that I wouldn't take any chances with foxes, if you can't take him inside build as strong a protection as you can, not forgetting ground level as foxes can dig underneath.

yes like conny and cheryl said NEVER under estimate a fox they are very very cunning, if they are hungry and want food (sorry) they will do anything to get to our bunnies whether its digging or climbing, hutch doors will easliy be riped off.

And yes they are very silent indeed it was by chance really my mum chased a fox away and it didn't get anyone else

Hi,

I am well aware what a fox can do just from reading these stories.

I do not leave him in his run over night. He is in a secure hutch - well as secure as it can be and completely covered up with bricks on & is on legs.

During the day he is in a secure run.

As everyone has said a fox is able to get in to anything so whether my rabbit is in a hutch of his run if a fox wants it he will get it.

I would rather have my rabbit in a secure run where he has freedom throughout the day then couped up in a hutch.

I can't spend each day worrying about it as i am now as its out of my control. Fortunately (again i know you all say fox's are daring) but the back of my garden has a 10 foot brick wall that backs onto an extremely busy road/high Street.

Opposite my house is a busy doctor's surgery.

My next door neighour is alot of the time out in his garden & the guy that lives above me that can see in to my garden works from home so if he heard/saw anything he would shoo the fox away.

As for the evening, the way i have the hutch secure if a fox was to break-in a panel of woor i have against it would fall making a loud nose (i tested this) which would no doubt wake me up.

I've made all the precautions I can. I can't make a bunny house because my garden is tiny!

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Also, I am going to get some fox repellent stuff to put over the fence. It prob won't do much but you never know!