I live on 10 acres in central Florida. This sping a pair of gray fox had kits on my property about a football field away from the main house.
Their home seems to be under a old building that is a studio/ storage facility and I seldom go back there so I guess they felt safe.
Well, one day I looked back there and I saw these adorable little things jumping and playing and having a great time.
I did not get too close and just watched them from a distance. Almost every day at noon, i would go out and look in the back and they would be playing, never straying too far from mom. One day I was going to get close for a pic(only have point and shoot digital) So i eased up slowly ...never getting too close and then I decided I was close enough and retreated... when I looked back to where I had been standing, the fox was right where I had been... so the dad was watching me the whole time!
Now I am a city girl living in the country so I don't know that much about fox behavior.
I went out of town for about a week and when I came back the kits seem to be gone but one adult has decided to live right behind my main house. In the morning he sleeps on a fallen tree, all curled up and cozy 25-30 feet from my back door. I have a large screen porch, so when I go out there and move around or make noise, he isn't the least bit afraid of me. I do have three cats that I use to let go outside but since i know there are fox out there, I decided to let them stay onthe screen porch instead of roaming around. (probaly better for them anyway)
Anyway, this fox seems quit well and happy. I just don't know if I should ask him to leave or leave him alone.
I imagine he has been watching me a lot long than I have been watching him!
Question. I don't want to disrupt nature but should I shoo the fox away?
Will he want to be agressive with my cats? Is it normal for a fox to set his territory so close to humans? How far do the kits go when they leave the den?
Really in awe of fox now.
all the best
sandra

Hey, Sandra! It's great that you're enjoying the foxes in your area. They ara amazing aren't they?

In response to your questions, I am by no means an expert, but as a general rule of thumb, pets and wild animals do NOT mix. Cats and foxes are known to be a bad combination. It is strongly reccomended to keep cats indoors, or in your case on the porch.

As for territory, foxes are amazing in how adaptable they are. It isn't out of the ordinary to see foxes living even in some more urban environments. Wherever there is sufficient food available, they can live. People think of foxes as nocturnal creatures, but in reality, they can be active day or night, whichever is convenient for them. They time their daily routines according to various factors, such as the level of human activity, and also the scedules of other foxes in the area. For example some seem to time thier stays in an area to avoid the more dominant foxes in thier territory, only visiting when those foxes are not around.

If a fox spends a lot of time in areas closer to human activity, it somply meant he/she is comfrtable and confident that he/she will not be bothered by anyone.

How far do the kit's go? Well, at first they stick close to the den, under constant watch by the parents, and as they grow older, they stray farther from the den, eventually not to come back, with some exceptions; vixens will sometimes return to thier mother's den the next year, to help mom raise her next litter, in the proccess gaining valuable experience for raising her own kits someday. But as for how far the adults disperse, I don't really know.

If you want to learn more about foxes, there are many great resources on the web, here's one page with a lot of info:

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I quote Ultra, but pet and foxes. Substantially foxes and cats can peacefully cohabit The problem is that they might compete for food...

Look at this video:

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Here you can see a fox quarrel over food with a cat... until they can eat in separate bowls:

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Sandra, obviosly pay attention to your beloved cats and don't leave food around (...or put many bowls )... but don't worry too for the foxes

PS: If you succeed to make some photos or videos, please post it here

Lucky... I wish i could see foxes like that. Especially so close. If you do end up getting some good pictures, you can post them here
Well, I don't think that the foxes will do anything to your cats and i definitely wouldn't shoo it away. I wouldn't bother it at all myself, i would probably end up watching the foxes for really long periods of time. Is it normal... well, i never really like answering "is it normal" questions because normal can be different depending on who you ask. How far do they go... not to sure really, i will look it up though.

Competition for food is the major conflict. I'm wondering, would they fight over territory also? I know that both species are highly territorial.

I'm a dog person myself and like you, wildstray, I have had little experience with cats, except for at a shelter I volunteered at. Turns out I'm a cat magnet: who knew?

But I digress. I'm wondering if you've ever heard a cat fight outside your window at night. From what I read, cats are indeed territorial animals. With houscats who rarely go outside, this isn't noticeable. But outdoors cats (and feral cats especially) do keep and mark territory, and conflicts can become nasty.

I also noted while I was at the shelter, that cats can be touchy when it comes to having other cats around. Some cats get along well with others, and some just can't tolerate haveing any other cat's around. And sometimes it's only certain individuals who can't stand eachother.