I have just seen a dying fox. Well, he or she was not dying in front of my eyes but she had multiple leg injuries that would make it almost impossible to survive. She looked depressed and was limping badly. She had come to my porch for a rest and some sun. It is a bit of a sun trap. I heard some scrapping noses outside and went to the door that leads to the patio porch area. She was resting on the mat out there. I wanted to feed her but as soon as I gently opened the door she limped off. She tried twice to jump the wall at the end of the garden and just made it. It must have been painful for her. She licked her paws constantly indicating that they were painful.
Urban foxes in the UK get a lot of leg and foot injuries as they travel fast, climb lots of walls and land on rough surfaces. They are also shot at and persecuted sometimes. All this happens if they survive mange which strips their fur off them. They then die of hypothermia.
I don’t want to see a fox in this condition. I don’t want to see a cat in a poor condition because I feel what they are feeling. It is this very feeling that motivates everything I do. It is the feeling that motivates all people who care about cat welfare. It is almost an act of selfishness to want to alleviate a fox or cat or dog of his or her pain and distress because it is distressing to me. I find it almost unbearable. The problem is, we can’t help.
I wanted to hold this fox and take her to a vet to put her to sleep, to be free of the struggle to survive and the pain and discomfort that goes with it at the end of her short life in the urban jungle of London because simultaneously it would rid the discomfort from me. It would be an act of desperation and defeat.
Does someone out there feel like that?
What makes it all doubly painful is that this dying fox may be the fox I cured of mange last year and who disappeared. Perhaps she has come back to a place where she knows she is safe. This is a video of her before she got mange:
The last time I saw her was when she was rolling in the grass in the sun, her mange almost cured. It is a picture in my mind that I will never forget.
It amazes me how many people will starve all their native wildlife to death by letting cats destroy all their food sources by torturing all those prey-animals to death for cats’ play-toys and think nothing of it. But then when they actually see one of the native wildlife suffering, then all of a sudden they use that animal’s suffering to gain sympathy and attention for themselves. Cat-lovers just get sad and sadder to a mental-illness degree, no matter which way anyone slices and dices it.
I have just seen her this evening. She was sleeping in my covered cat litter tray on the porch/patio. When I opened the back door she left it and walked off. I wish she wouldn’t do that. I left out some cat food and some chicken for her. I feel very sad for her. I hate the whole thing. For me it just highlights how cruel and harsh the world is. This can’t be the creation of a God.
Thank you very much for the information. Very sweet of you.
Yes the rabies series used to be 13 shots in the stomach when I was a kid.
But I thought there wasn’t rabies in the UK. Not that I’m saying Michael doesn’t need to worry about being bitten whether or not there’s a rabies risk.
Michael you probably know about this but I found this site , could you contact them? It says they have a fox ambulance service . but their area does not cover all of London. maybe they could at least give advice on trapping.
I guess otherwise it is the RSPCA.
Mobile ambulance
01892 731565 (9.00am – 9.00pm daily)
Outside those hours, please call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999
Who is this crazy, beautiful person who saves foxes? And thanks for your thoughts.
Michael; If she comes back, don’t try to approach her immediately. Put some food out for her and let her see you don’t mean any harm. Gain her trust and she may allow you to get closer. Yes, foxes are shy, but being injured tends to change their skepticism of humans. She may not have the energy to be too aggressive. You could also leave a bowl out where she went over the fence. Worst case sceanrio, you do get bit and have to have rabies shots. Good news is, they are now down to 5 injections in the muscle. 🙂
Here is a funny story about foxes. I have a very dear friend who is from Britain. When she was “home” on vacation, she hooked up with her friend who is die hard animal rescue. Well, the friend told her about some foxes….mother an babies, of whom had been concreted in some road construction thing. Lordy, she and her friend along with another gal went out in the dead of night and busted the whole concrete thing apart. Took the foxes and drove like bats of hell to get away from the scene. She told me, she just knew she was going to end up in the “gaol”. I looked at her like she had lost her mind. I asked if she realized she was committing a felony in a foreign country. She simply said and I quote “well I am a dual citizen”. She huffed off like it was no big thing. I do understand the cruelty of what happened to the foxes and I identify with her love of animals. But, she is always taking risks and has had rabies series at LEAST 3 times that I know of.