Last night when I got in from work there was an injured fox on my lawn, limping, and looked like it had half its ear chewed off. I grabbed a couple of beach towels and brought him / her inside. I put it in the utility room with a bowl of water, a cooked chicken (it had past its best anyway we never got round to eating it) and some lettuice. Came down this morning and the chicken was eaten and it was bounding around the kitchen. I've put him / her back in the utility room until I get home from work but not too sure what to do. I'd like to try and tame it, and keep it as a pet. Are they similar to dogs in respect of care etc?

I would let it go. Its is a wild animal and will try too hurt you if frieghtened at all. Its good that you helped it but speak to the RSPCA to see if they can release it in a safe area. they can not be domesticated

You should let it go

it would probably die in captivity (it's diet is nothing like a domestic)
It will have a family
It is very likely to bite you (or anyone else)
It is riddled with disease (if it does bite you, you will be in hospital)

Definately contact RSPCA.

You could simply let it go, but it might be injured....

It could have young that are dependent on it (if it's a mature fox)....

Local RSPCA will call round & collect it...they will have it checked out for any serious injuries it may have and treat it if required, before releasing it back into the local areas that are known for fox habitation.

RSPCA Helpline is 0300 1234 555

Hi Charcole (a fellow Fifer, I see! ), it's almost impossible to domesticate a fox (unless you have it from a pre-weaned cub and can 'imprint' it) - it's not a pack animal like a dog so won't have any inclination to follow or obey you - it might lose it's fear of you, but it'll never be truly tamed and they get anxious and stressed in captivity. Good on you for taking it in when it was injured, but remember it's the breeding season and there may well be cubs or a pregnant vixen waiting for it to come home. Best thing to do is let it go...you can leave food out for it at night and you might be rewarded with seeing some cute cubs in your garden in a few months! These folk have very useful advice!

http://www.thefoxwebsite.org/faq/foxwelfare.html

(Just to clarify, it's not generally illegal to take an animal out of the wild (unless it's a protected species, or other specific legslation applies), but as soon as you do, you're legally responsible for it's welfare and the RSPCA can and do prosecute if they think you're not givng it the correct care.)

Mildly related...the Russians have been working on breeding a tame silver fox for about 50 years (for fur farming, not just for fun!) and have managed to breed in some dog-like behaviours - they apparently make very good pets,if you can afford the hefty price tag...

But cats aren't pack animals either

True, which is why it's almost impossible to tame a feral adult cat, as opposed to a kitten (domestic or feral) which has been imprinted with humans from an early age. A feral cat may grow to be bold around humans, but it'll never consider itself to be the same as a human. (Unlike domestic cats, who despair at their efforts to get their strange two-legged, clawless, clumsy kittens to eat the dead birds and half-mice that they lovingly bring for them...)

On the other hand, adult pack animals (wild dogs, wolves, etc) can sometimes be tamed if you can convince them that you're higher in the pack than them. (Having said that, you'll not get an adult wolf, etc, to ever behave like a dog because they're not subject to paedomorphisis - what we think of as typical 'dog' behaviours (dependency, playfulness, barking, whining, etc) are actually juvenile behaviours - as result of thousands of years of selectve breeding for traits like docility, obedience, etc.)

Animal psychology's incredibly complicated - did you catch the programme on Radio 4 last night about the psychology of the cuckoo? Really quite bizarre...

But have been domesticated for 4000 years.

A wild fox. It not only got out of the utility room but you also managed to put it back in there? The thing would be petrified and wouldn't take kindly to that at all and would likely be very aggressive...

Have you had your jabs? I hope so as I'm guessing it had a good snap at you?

I wore heavy duty gardening gloves and used beach towels. I will let it out tonight then, and I'll keep putting chicken, meat etc out for it. Will dog food be okay?

Don't put any food out for it. Leave it be and let it do it's own thing. A wild animal shouldn't be reliant on a human.

Dog food'll be absolutely fine - foxes are pretty omnivorous! Again, good on you for helping it when injured! If a fox is injured it can die from shock quite easily in the period immediately following the injury - sounds like you've prevented that so it should be fine.

The only thing you might catch from it is tetanus, and then only if it bitten/scratched you and broke the skin - from the sound of it that's not happened. You've probably not handled it enough for any transfer of fleas, but have a good shower once it's gone, juts in case. Oh, and if it's made waste anywhere, don't handle the faeces with bare hands (not that you would!) - like dogs, they can carry disease there too.