The spring of 2020 brought a litter of fox cubs into my back garden. Two of them disappeared quite quickly, and I’d like to think they were whisked off to another den so that their baby sister (who was distinctly smaller) could eat her food without a struggle. It seemed obvious to me that the other two were boys as their behaviour was far more bold & brash, their noses right up against my patio doors & utterly fearless. Pixie, as I named her, was coy and flirtatious, preferring to leap around the lawn with an array of soft toys, collected by her parents from people’s gardens. She darted and pounced in exquisite, boundless joy, and I was entranced.
My cat on the other hand, was unimpressed. Terrified and desperate to stop them coming inside, he peed on the rug. One of my worst nightmares! He wasn’t afraid of the cub at all, but refused to step outside unless I coaxed him, and it became clear that he must have been warned off by one or both of the parents, which had a profoundly negative effect on his sensitive soul. Their home was under next door’s shed right up against my fence and precisely where my cat used to crawl to underneath. Wrong time wrong place! Being a creature who adored his garden, this was not good news as he morphed from a spirited and cheerful personality, to simply depressed. For his sake I tried moving them on with a water squirter attached to the outside tap, specifically designed to come on when anyone came within a certain distance to it. The trouble was that I felt guilty as she wasn’t hurting anybody. The parents were around but I rarely saw them, and not at all after the summer solstice due to the hours they kept & their ability to camouflage.
I opted instead for homeopathic remedies for anxiety for my cat, which worked intermittently, and we lived alongside one another for months. The cub came out at around 9pm every night as I watched mesmerised, as my large but unconfrontational cat looked on in resigned dread, occasionally growling when she got too close. I knew that generally speaking cats and foxes have a healthy respect for one another all being well, and that it would only be for now.
The cub was growing rapidly and remained enthusiastic about life in spite of having no siblings to play with. What a shame my cat wouldn’t entertain the idea, as they were about the same size and Pixie was up for it. Her features gradually changed from rounded to distinctly pointed and foxy. I restrained the impulse to befriend her, knowing it wouldn’t benefit her in the long run, but it would have been very easy to do so. It was amazing that we hadn’t experienced this before, as the garden, being large with a wild area at the back, different shrubs to hide under and a pond, was the perfect safe play area with no dogs nearby. I hated the thought of her going out into a world where nature is being destroyed to make way for more houses and worse, the dreadful HS2 high speed rail, demolishing wildlife and their habitat.
She suddenly disappeared in September, true to form according to the research I did. Apparently the parents literally chase them out to make their own lives. My cat was transformed back to his old self immediately, which was actually a major relief. But I was left with a slightly dwindling sense of loss. I knew I’d be unlikely to ever experience such an intimate relationship with a wild animal again. The following year, two months earlier than their previous appearance, they came back!! I know because my cat shot up the stairs just as before, peering out between the banisters and peed on the floor! It was march which is when the cubs are born, and sadly the ingrained trauma to my boy was too much to bear. He just couldn’t get over it. As by now I was in the process of re-locating, I also couldn’t deal with it. I feared my elderly cat would lose the will to live as he sunk into depression, daring only to tread warily close to the house. So I opted for a safe scent detractor to urge them to move on, and blocked the holes under the fence panels. It broke my heart to do so.
In June of that year we moved, and once again my furry friend regained his confidence. I hope that my little fox is still around, living safely with a family of her own, less trusting but able to navigate her way in a precarious world. Yet sadly foxes are lucky to live two years these days due to traffic, despite their capacity to live up to eight years or so. I learned so much about foxes during this time through doing my own research, but most of all I learned through this experience, that these beautiful beings are playful, loyal, intelligent and devoted to their children. Their harsh lives are so much about survival from human violation, and I wish from the bottom of my heart that this could be different. We all deserve to live freely on the planet, sharing the space in which we find ourselves. Perhaps some day the Earth will be safe for all animals. I’d dearly like to think so, but we certainly have a way to go as we wade through the current dissolution of the old systems, exposing the wounds we have created – wounds that need to be lovingly nursed back to health. This will take time. I’m pleased I chose love instead of fear in this instance at a time when fear is so prevalent in the world, and I shall treasure this moment for ever.
If you have the opportunity to get to know one of these bright sparks, you’re in for a treat. Fox medicine teaches us stealth, camouflage, the value of family, playfulness, humour and spontaneity. They have suffered cruelly at the hands of humans and goodness knows why. But if you happen to be touched by fox magic, then I dare you not to fall in love! Animal medicine is a powerful tool for understanding where we are at on our paths. Each one has a lesson and a message for us if we open our hearts and minds to connect to the spirit of the animal, including birds, sea creatures and reptiles. Those of us who have pets will know the incredible connection we have with them. Relationships with our little friends can run deep, and because they do not have the ego mind, their spirits hold up a mirror that encourages us to drop our masks. More importantly, they urge us to tune in to our pure eternal selves and listen to the whisperings of our souls.
A magical piece of writing. How uplifting!