Fox breaks into house through cat flap - loses fight with cat
A MUM and her two daughters were left terrified when a fox crept into their Quedgeley home after getting in through the cat flap.
The fox sneaked into Julie Skuse's bedroom and sat on her windowsill.
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Fox terror: Chloe Skuse, 17, next to the cat flap
Julie's daughter Poppy, 15, confronted the animal before it darted out of the family home in Church Drive.
But it returned minutes later back through the cat flap only to be chased off by their cat.
Julie, 46, and her girls were left in fear that the fox might try to gain entry a third time.
The shocking incident, on Monday night, has led to fears other families, particularly those with young children, could be vulnerable to attack.
Baby twins Isabella and Lola Koupparis made national headlines last month when they were savaged by a fox as they slept in their cots.
The girls, asleep in an upstairs room of their home in East London, were left scarred for life by the attack.
Yesterday Miss Skuse urged residents to be on their guard.
Poppy, who lives at the house with sister Chloe, 17, and mum said: "My sister was out and she came in and said there was a cat in the house.
"We went into my mum's room and there was a fox sat on the windowsill. We went downstairs and the fox went through my room and jumped out of my window. Then it came in again through the cat flap, but my cat chased it out.
"We were scared. I've never seen a fox around here before."
Miss Skuse now wants to warn her neighbours of the brazen fox.
She said: "I've just been worried about children in the area, after all the things in the news about that fox mauling those twins. I just want people to know that there's a fox around which goes into people's houses."
Rosie Woolley, of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, said it was highly likely the fox was a cub foraging for food.
She said: "Foxes are opportunists, and if it fitted through a cat flap, it's probably quite young.
"This time of year there are lots of cubs about, and they just don't care. As foxes get older they tend to get a bit wiser, but if there was cat food in the house and the young fox could smell it, it would have just gone to investigate.
"Obviously they will take food wherever they can find it.
"It's likely this fox had not been above ground for very long and has not yet become good at hunting."
TiG note: Have we got the comment process right on Thisisgloucestershire?
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by Ann, Cheltenham
Tuesday, July 13 2010, 2:34PM
“Angela Jolly
These are 2 grown adults not babies i stand by my comment, Get a Grip!!!!”
by The Khazi of Kalabar, Cheltenham
Monday, July 12 2010, 1:15PM
“If they didn't have a cat flap then this fox would never have got into the house in the first place. There's a very easy way to sort this problem - kill the cat. Job done.”
by JBNTS, Stroud(ish)
Sunday, July 11 2010, 10:32PM
“Feral foxes? When did all these domestic foxes hack themselves back to the wild?”
by The Fantastic Mr. Fox, In a book
Sunday, July 11 2010, 1:58PM
“Quote: There are too many feral foxes around. As opposed to domesticated, perchance?”
by David, Cheltenham
Sunday, July 11 2010, 1:16PM
“There are too many feral foxes around. Idiots encourage them by feeding them and then these foxes make a nuisance of themselves spreading mange, ripping up bin bags and leaving their droppings everywhere. It won't be long before a cull is required.”