i have a cat flap on my shed so my cat can shelter from the weather when im not home.yesterday when i went to my shed i had the fright of my life,there was a fox sleeping in his bed,i dont know who was more scared me or the fox.what is worrying me the fox had got mange all over its backside and i am worried my cat might have caught it
Reply to Hatty Mange is caused by a mite infestation of the foxes. It can be transferred to domestic pets, but since they are more closely related to foxes it is dogs which are most at risk. Quite how high that risk is, I do not know. Cats are. apparently, very unlikely to get it. The main thing is that foxes are unlikely to be taken to the vet to have their symptoms treated, so infestations become gross, chronic and eventually fatal. Pets, on the other hand, are regularly monitored and can be easily treated at first appearance of any signs of the illness. Have a look at this web site for some more information:
Although early on we lost chickens to Mr Fox, we now have a love/hate relationship...
We've completely fenced in our chickens with thick wire mesh and have buried the same under their run.
We've not lost any for a couple of years, but that doesn't mean I give them a free range in the garden - as we have had some taken in broad daylight from our patio in the past.
Best plan with keeping chickens in your garden is to completely mesh them in and makesure they're not allowed out unsupervised. Which is always a bit of a problem if you have kids! Ahemm!
My Wife & I enjoy ALL the Wildlife visiting our garden, [Except Rats] but including Foxes.
We feel however that the best advice we were given was in that it is best to let the 'Natural Fear' of man remain.
The Fox is both a Carnivore, a Scavenger and an Opportunist.
To Foxes there MAY WELL be no difference between a small baby put out in the garden and a chicken or pet rabbit. This can, albeit VERY RARELY, result in a tragedy.
In FAIRNESS to Foxes our feeding deer can result in tameness too, this 'loss of fear' when the raging hormones of 'The Rutt' arrives can make Rudolph potentially very dangerous. [Ask the Wardens at Windsor Great Park]
As for us we have tried to encourage wildlife generally whilst bearing in mind the above, Grey Squirrels, [Delightfull though they are to our Kids & Grandchildren still decimate our native Reds. We find Woodpigeons & Magpies, together with city centre with city centre pigeons clear nuisances.
As retired 'Para Medics' we feel the latter will likely be the source of much disease in a future Pandemic.
So can we REMEMBER that when we 'Interface' with all forms of wildlife?.
Reply to Harry's comment 29: We too have had foxes in the garden in past years without any problem from fleas but this year they are in the house, perhaps it is associated with the dry weather. I conclude that is has to be the foxes as we don't have any cats or dogs. The clincher came this afternoon when I put out a white sheet on the grass before enjoying the sun and yes, several fleas were onto the sheet in a short space of time, so much so that my idea of a snooze in the sun was cancelled.
It is annoying both because it means I can't enjoy lying on the grass and because we have had fleas in three of the rooms at times over a four week period. A total of about 15 - 20 have been killed. Masking tape works well!
I am reluctant to powder the garden with an anti-flea powder as I am sure if it can kill fleas it would be detrimental to other wildlife.
Hobgoblin did you solve your flea problem? We have exactly the same thing now, fleas in the house and the garden presumably from the foxes. I don't mind the foxes themselves but the fleas are driving me insane as we can't enjoy our garden or our house for that matter! We've had the house sprayed but I can't find a way to get them out of the garden.
Can anyone help? For 2 weeks now we've had nearly 2 dozen frogs paired up in our pond. Loads of croaking but no frogspawn! Can anyone suggest why? This time last year we'd had two lots of spawn. Thanks for any help. Paul
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Mange is caused by a mite infestation of the foxes. It can be transferred to domestic pets, but since they are more closely related to foxes it is dogs which are most at risk. Quite how high that risk is, I do not know. Cats are. apparently, very unlikely to get it. The main thing is that foxes are unlikely to be taken to the vet to have their symptoms treated, so infestations become gross, chronic and eventually fatal. Pets, on the other hand, are regularly monitored and can be easily treated at first appearance of any signs of the illness. Have a look at this web site for some more information:
http://www.thefoxwebsite.org/disease/diseasemange.html
We've completely fenced in our chickens with thick wire mesh and have buried the same under their run.
We've not lost any for a couple of years, but that doesn't mean I give them a free range in the garden - as we have had some taken in broad daylight from our patio in the past.
Best plan with keeping chickens in your garden is to completely mesh them in and makesure they're not allowed out unsupervised. Which is always a bit of a problem if you have kids! Ahemm!
http://www.keeping-chickens.co.uk
We feel however that the best advice we were given was in that it is best to let the 'Natural Fear' of man remain.
The Fox is both a Carnivore, a Scavenger and an Opportunist.
To Foxes there MAY WELL be no difference between a small baby put out in the garden and a chicken or pet rabbit. This can, albeit VERY RARELY, result in a tragedy.
In FAIRNESS to Foxes our feeding deer can result in tameness too, this 'loss of fear' when the raging hormones of 'The Rutt' arrives can make Rudolph potentially very dangerous. [Ask the Wardens at Windsor Great Park]
As for us we have tried to encourage wildlife generally whilst bearing in mind the above, Grey Squirrels, [Delightfull though they are to our Kids & Grandchildren still decimate our native Reds. We find Woodpigeons & Magpies, together with city centre with city centre pigeons clear nuisances.
As retired 'Para Medics' we feel the latter will likely be the source of much disease in a future Pandemic.
So can we REMEMBER that when we 'Interface' with all forms of wildlife?.
It is annoying both because it means I can't enjoy lying on the grass and because we have had fleas in three of the rooms at times over a four week period. A total of about 15 - 20 have been killed. Masking tape works well!
I am reluctant to powder the garden with an anti-flea powder as I am sure if it can kill fleas it would be detrimental to other wildlife.
Funeral Urns
For 2 weeks now we've had nearly 2 dozen frogs paired up in our pond. Loads of croaking but no frogspawn! Can anyone suggest why? This time last year we'd had two lots of spawn. Thanks for any help. Paul