Watch a Huge House Cat Completely Indifferent to a Playful Fox’s Antics

Written by Sharon Parry
Updated: October 20, 2023
Share on:

This fox is desperate to get a pet tabby to play with her – and then wishes that she hadn’t bothered! Filmed in a perfectly ordinary back garden in Ireland, it has now been seen by more than 1.4 million people. The interaction between the fox and the cat is fascinating. This urban fox seems almost obsessed with the cat. Yet, despite the extreme provocation, the cat ignores her. Instead, the tabby is very interested in a titbit of food in the grass. However, enough is eventually enough. The patience of the tabby will only stretch so far and you see some hissing and baring of claws which makes the friendly fox retreat.

Watch the Video Below Now!

Urban Fox Behavior

The behavior of the urban fox in this video is fascinating. The animals are fairly well-matched in size and it is hard to work out who would have the upper hand if things started to get aggressive. We see the fox behave very much like a domestic dog. She repeatedly sniffs the cat’s butt and this is classic dog behavior. Dogs sniff each other’s butts as a form of greeting, to help with identification and to establish dominance. Foxes are not dogs but they are closely related. They both belong to the Canidae family but dogs belong to the Canis genus and most foxes belong to the Vulpes genus.  Nevertheless, foxes do look like some domestic dog breeds.

Urban foxes are scavengers and they are also carnivores so they would compete with domestic cats for scraps of food left around trash cans and in yards and gardens. Foxes also hunt small mammals and birds just like the domestic cat. They are found widely in urban areas in the Northern Hemisphere and are usually nocturnal so it is unusual to see one out during the day as we do in this footage. Owners who put out cat food for the neighborhood strays may find that it is actually eaten by a fox!

The urban fox in Ireland is a red fox. Their slender legs, big bushy tail, red fur, and pointed ears and snout are instantly recognizable.

On the whole, a fox is not a threat to a cat’s safety. Cats are equipped with sharp claws and teeth and plenty of attitude so most could defend themselves against a fox. This is clear in the video. The tabby is perfectly relaxed and happy to let the fox make a fool of herself whilst they play it super cool!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Sunanta Suwanphen/Shutterstock.com


Share on:
About the Author

Dr Sharon Parry is a writer at A-Z animals where her primary focus is on dogs, animal behavior, and research. Sharon holds a PhD from Leeds University, UK which she earned in 1998 and has been working as a science writer for the last 15 years. A resident of Wales, UK, Sharon loves taking care of her spaniel named Dexter and hiking around coastlines and mountains.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us? Contact the AZ Animals editorial team.