Small Cat vs Fox

Hi, first of I just wanted to say sorry if this isn't in a suitable secion of the forums but I have no idea where else to put it. Anyways I have a small cat, she's over a year now and is the size of about a 4 month cat. She's had kittens who are almost 5 months now. Anyways, in the past she's had an experience with a fox, some time at night I heard some funny noises and I went to look outside and my cat had gotten outside somehow and there was a fox about less than 5 metres from her and she was doing nothing other than standing there. I'd say relative to her size she is the toughest cat with had, she's never been ill, been a natural mother and once we had lost her for 3 weeks and she managed to travel over 24 miles. She's a really nice cat and has NEVER tried to attack anyone, even people who she had never met who picked up her kittens when they were around 2 weeks she just watched.

Anyways, I know that normal sized cats have a very good fighting chance against fox's as long as they're healthy, but for a cat her size, not sure how much she weighs but around 3 kg, what would the chances of a fox killing her because other than the night when we lost her, this is her first night out without coming in and we've been calling her (and another one of our cats, just normal sized) and none of them have come in. She is a pretty tough cat but we've never seen here in a fight or killing a bird or anything so we have no idea what she'd do to defend herself from a fox. Anways I know this is getting pretty long but thanks.

I am afraid for your cat; a fox can certainly injure a male cat if he is hungry and aggressive enough.

I would go outside and start looking for her.  Put out some of her old litter, some dirty clothes of yours (so she can smell you), and smelly food.  Shine a flashlight around bushes--the light will reflect off of the cat's eyes.

Gold luck

She's back now and the bigger male, it started heavily raining and I think the male got in a fight with another male because the cat was trying to find shelter and stumbled across them, but they're alright. I don't mind the male out at night because he's a regular sized cat it's just the female incase like what happened with the fox last time happens again and this time we are not there to save her. She was literally just sitting down 3 metres in front of the fox and just watch it get closer. 

I don't think the size of the cats matters with a fox. Foxes are known hunters, they've hunted all their lives. I am sure they can take out a main coon without much of an issue.

Try to bring your cats in for safety.

I agree. If there is any possible way, keep your cats inside. I especially think it is more dangerous for cats to be outside at night.

We've had foxes around our cat food, and have never had a problem with them around our cats. The internet says they almost always never attack a cat, unlike coyotes that go out of their way to kill. That being said, we had a cat killed by a raccoon, after years of never having trouble with them! Has any one had trouble with eagles? I noticed one trying to get the neighbors' kittens, but could they get a full grown cat? I've never seen him around before, his wingspan must be 6 feet! I hope he's just passing through! All this and we live in the city! (we have a lot of parkland and wooded areas around)

I once saw an eagle carry off a Lhasa Apso, so I doubt a full-grown cat would be a problem.

We have a lot of foxes around here, and the neighborhood cats stay inside when one is wandering through the yards, so their instinct seems to be that foxes are a threat.

Third person account: a fox carried off an adult male cat about two blocks from where I live.
First person account: right before Superstorm Sandy, Ritz went ballastic, looking at something outside the window.
It was a small red fox, about four feet away.
They saw each other, and I quickly shut the window.

Luckily for me I live in Britain so the only animals which threat my cats are foxes or fellow cats. I know foxes can kill cats but it's also the same with cats. I also know that foxes usually won't attack a healthy fully grown cat, the only times when they do attack cats are when they're really hungry, or if the cat is ill or elderly or a kitten. I just wanted to know  if they would try attacking her because of her size but it is kind of hard to tell I guess.

I would never leave any cat outside at night.

I think it depends on the fox. About 30 years ago my Grandmother, who lived in Bristol (Famous for it's urban fox population.) had a fox raise a litter under her garden shed. Her two cats and the neighbours cats never had any problems with the fox family, but they were all kept in at night and only allowed out during the daytime. I think urban foxes are getting bigger and bolder, aren't they? Wasn't there a story last year about a baby in London being bitten by a fox that crept into the house?

It probably would be safer to keep her indoors at night when there is more wildlife around. I've heard foxes around here, and I know feral kittens get taken by them, but I've never seen them close to the house. The neighbours two Shiba ken would go ballistic, I'm sure.

We also get big kite hawks around here, but they mainly feed on road kill and what ever the fishermen leave behind. I don't think an eagle would have any trouble taking a full grown cat. Thankfully they are very rare in this part of the world.