Fox cub in the house

[ClareandCo]

David my 18 year old son one rang my mobile at about 3.30 pm to say there was a fox cub in one of the upstairs bedrooms, which is the bird room. He was upstairs with the backdoors open downstairs (no one can get round the back of our house) and heard the birds. He went into the room and sitting in the middle of the room was a fox. He screamed and rang me. I missed the called but Stephen, who I had just collected from his volunteer work at an animal rescue also got one! We raced home, about 10 minutes away, and told him to remain in the room. It had now gone behind the snail tank on the floor.

We rushed upstairs with very thick gloves. It was sitting in the corner of the room and as Stephen reached out (wearing the gloves) it sank its teeth into his finger. Fortunately, it didn't leave a mark, but he managed to chivvy it towards me. It then shot out of the room and down the stairs. The doors of all the other rooms were shut, but we left the front door open and it ran out.

I now retract my initial disbelief about the fox found in the bedroom of those young twin girls.

[justmeandmytortoise]

Oh my goodness .... just going to close the back door!

[Bindi]

They're not called wily for nothing Clare

Bit of a shocker finding one in your bedroom though

[ClareandCo]

Wasn't what we were expecting when our mobiles rang! It had come upstairs, either through the patio doors in the living room, or in through a lean-to, utility room and then the kitchen. The bird room is opposite the top of the stairs. It was definitely a cub as it wasn't much taller than the fishtank (which has snails in) which was on the floor.

Wily, that was a polite name for it - unbelievable really in the middle of the afternoon.

[TortBabe]

I would have fainted....

[ClareandCo]

I think David probably nearly did. Stephen and I said stay in the room and don't move we're on our way! We did not want it going into any of the other rooms and making a mess. Fortunately it didn't move and stayed behind an old rocking horse.

[Alan1]

What kind of gloves did you put on, were they fox gloves?

It seems it's getting more common - foxes around houses. In my lifetime living here though, I've never really seen any increase in foxes, it's something we rarely see out on the roads at night and I've never seen or heard of any being seen around anyone's house around here, maybe it's because they have plenty food available to them round here (out of town) or something

[ClareandCo]

Fox gloves - They are very thick ones that I use for hedgecutting as I once caught my hand on the blades and there is no way the blade could slice these (hazard that goes with my job)!

I posted on another forum, more for interest, or so I thought. I have been told it could not have been a cub and adult foxes are small, no, it was a cub as it could get behind the snail tank, which is 2'6" long and only 12" high. It was my fault for leaving the doors open - yes, it was a hot summer's afternoon and I did not expect a fox to come in, certainly not upstairs, in the middle of the day. Thirdly, what did I expect as we have birds and it could hear them and came in looking to eat them. Well, we've had them upstairs in an aviary for the last 4 years, I didn't bother to say usually mid pm they are quiet as they are resting, not like at 5 am! It was their noise that alerted David in the first place. Oh yes, of course it would bite as it was cornered - well, yes, hence the gloves!

Talk about being belittled as though I'm an idiot! I must say the users on here are so much nicer

[Alan1]

You have to watch for breaking the skin. My former boss got bitten by a red squirrel and had to get a tetanus jab and other tests done too for something else

[justmeandmytortoise]

Squirrel bites are nasty too. My Dad got bitten by one when mending the fence