the artful fox

One of the two girls that I watch, Jeannette, came over a few weeks ago and took some photos of Loki with her super amazing camera. Here’s a few of them!

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Photos by Jeannette Hoffman

(Source: theartfulfox)

Loki the Silver Fox

2012-2013

(Source: theartfulfox)

One year ago today, I made the three-hour trip down to my fox-breeder-of-choice to pick up my four-and-a-half week old silver phase red fox kit that I named Loki.

 

I remember waking up bright and early, and leaving promptly at 8 AM to meet with my breeder at 11 AM. I remember my breeder pulling Loki out to hand to me. I remember my fear of not knowing how exactly to hold my brand new little scrap of fur. I remember the feeling of his tiny claws pricking into my skin.

And now today, Loki is a one-year-old ball of monstrous energy.

 

 

If you go back and read my blog post from day one, you can see some major differences. For instance, I had expressed that I wanted Loki to be a primarily indoor fox. Did that happen? No. Loki spends the majority of his time outside in his kennel. He does however sleep inside in his crate at night.

Despite my efforts, Loki also never completely litter trained. I am not sure if that was my fault or not. I tried my hardest. I tried out various litters, kept waste in the box, set up a litter box for the cats near his… I even tried dropping eucalyptus oil in his litter box. Obviously, none of these worked as well as I wanted. He does use his litter box inside around 80-90% of the time. But outside he doesn’t use his litter box at all.

Loki also retains some biteyness. While he has calmed down some with age, I have not been able to break him of his habit completely. Sometimes when I pet him, I get bit. Or when I hold him. Or when he is on my lap. I do get lots of foxy kisses, but I probably get more nips. Honestly, it is a little frustrating. They are generally little bites, but it is still undesirable behavior.

 

Last year, I bought Loki a spray collar that I never used. I never used it because the strappy collar was too thick for Loki’s tiny neck at the time. The spraying device was also too heavy for him. Loki and I are moving this fall, and now that he is full grown I think it is time to break out the spray collar in order to bite this bad behavior in the butt once and for all.

I think those are my main goals for this next year. I want Loki to use his litter box. I want Loki to stop biting. And I want Loki to be able to come indoors more, which will definitely be happening when we move in August. It will take a lot of time and effort, but I think we can do it. What about you?

 

 

This past year has been one hell of a ride. I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone. I feel like it was yesterday that Loki was keeping me awake with his constant shrieking. Unfortunately, this will be the last blog post that I number by day. It would be too hard to keep track of the days – it was hard enough keeping track up until Day 365!

I am also thinking about doing some product reviews, along with blogging about some things of Loki’s that I would recommend to other fox owners.

For example, I am currently testing out Blue Buffalo Naturally Fresh Quick Clumping Multi-Cat Litter. However, I have also used, Fresh Step, Tidy Cats Pure Nature, Cat Attract, and Yesterday’s news, so maybe just a review on the different litters in general would be better.

Would anyone be interested in that?

Anyway, on a more Loki-related note, yesterday he tore apart this pink ball that used to belong to my family’s dog, Bridgette. He has been playing with this ball for months without incidence, so I was not expecting this to happen. I found some of the pieces, but not all of them. This led me to believe that the other pieces were buried under the straw in his kennel, or that he ingested them.

I decided to wait it out to see if he could go to the bathroom okay, because if he could then I knew he would be okay. Unfortunately, I forgot to scoop his litter box last night so I am unsure if the waste inside was old or new. It does not help that he vomited this morning sometime between 9-10 AM, although it kind of looked like a hairball.

Because of this, I’ve been trying to induce some bowel movements. I know canned pumpkin can help with stools, so Loki has been getting quite a bit of that. I’ve also given him a bit of plain Greek yogurt with probiotics. Its hard to tell which waste is fresh and which is not in his kennel, but I recently found some rather orange feces, so I am assuming that it is fresh and colored the way it is because of the canned pumpkin.

I have scooped out his litter box inside the house, and if he does not defecate tonight, then I will be calling the vet to schedule an appointment. I don’t think it will come down to that, but I like to have a plan set in advance.

  

Well, I suppose that is all for now.

I look forward to sharing my stories and experiences during the next year with you all. Hopefully I can learn to update more, instead of the random mess of updates from this year. We will see.

Until next time!

-J.P.

(Source: theartfulfox)

To My Readers:

Yesterday I received some terrible news. My friend Allyson’s fox, Umaro, had been hit by a car and passed away. Allyson got Umaro last year around the same time I got Loki, except he came from a breeder here in Michigan.

Umaro was vastly different from Loki, along with Loki’s brother Spirit. He was very aggressive from the moment Allyson brought him home. However, she did not give up on him, like some owners would. She worked and worked and worked with Umaro until she earned his trust and he became the animal he was at the time of his passing.

Allyson was and still is a fabulous fox owner. She worked with Umaro, unlike some people who would not be able to handle an aggressive fox and rehome them. She loved Umaro and he loved her back. I was horrified and devastated when I found out he had been killed. I cannot imagine the pain and devastation Allyson is going through. 

 

The details on what happened to Umaro are sketchy. Allyson went out of town for three days visiting her mother, and her ex-roommate waited until her boyfriend went off to work before breaking into their house. Along with letting Umaro out of the house, he stole some valuable items.

I doubt he realizes he stole the most precious thing of all.

Supposedly a police officer found Umaro’s body, but did not see any tags despite his collar and despite the fact that Allyson had just bought brand new bright gold tags for him days earlier. He apparently pushed Umaro’s body off to the side of the road and left.

Allyson and her boyfriend Andy searched and called around for anyone who had seen Umaro. When the police officer found out that Umaro belonged to Allyson, he went back to retrieve his body, but Umaro was already gone. Someone, probably a business owner, had disposed of him.

So now Allyson and Andy are left to grieve without proper closure. There will be no burials or cremations for little Umaro. What was bestowed upon their little family is horrible, and I hope you, my readers, will keep them in your thoughts in order to help send Umaro’s spirit across the rainbow bridge.

Rest in peace, little one.

You will forever be in our hearts and thoughts, and you have many friends waiting for you on the other side of the rainbow bridge.

Look for Fizzgig, you will be in good hands.

Thoughtfully yours,

-J.P.

(Source: theartfulfox)

Yes, my friends, you read that title right. Today my wonderful foxy boy turned one year of age. I am stunned, awed, happy, sad, nostalgic… you name it. I am feeling so much today that it is crazy!

It is hard to believe that in just four-and-a-half more weeks, I will have had Loki for a year. I will be making a special blog post to commemorate that day. 

Anyway, today started out like any other day, except that instead of some kind of raw poultry, Loki got a steak for today’s raw meat. Originally he wasn’t going to get a special piece of meat, but I found six steaks in my freezer, so I thawed one out for him. Later my dad identified the steak as filet mignon. 

Present-wise, Loki got/is getting six Chuckit! balls. Chuckit! balls are his absolute favorite toys. I had to give him his two Chuckit! Ultra balls early because he finally destroyed his last Chuckit! ball. Today I gave him two Chuckit! Fetch balls, and I am currently waiting for my order of two Chuckit! Rebounce balls to ship to me. They are supposed to arrive on Friday.

Loki’s last present was also one he got early, and it was also his most expensive. I bought and set up a zip-line in my backyard on Saturday. I’ve been meaning to set up a zip-line for him for ages, but his birthday gave me the perfect opportunity to spend a lot of money on him.

  

For anyone that doesn’t know, a zip-line is a long length of cord that is secured between two trees or posts, with a trolley line that hangs down and connects to your dog. Or in my case, my fox.

 

 

Loki’s zip-line is 33 feet long and 8.75 feet in the air. I rigged the regular clip of the line with two extra quick snap clips so it connects to both his collar and his harness for extra safety. I’m lucky I did this because I actually had his collar too loose and it almost slipped over his head on me. I made sure to tighten his collar before he went back on the line again.

 

  

The first day using the line, Loki was really nervous and kept trying to run off in fear because he wasn’t used to the change. And, unlike other foxes, Loki does not like change at all.

 

Today is only the fourth day using the line, and Loki is running it like a pro already. He seems to know his boundaries and he only pulls when he is chasing a leaf or something similar. A sandhill crane flew over our heads while he was out today, and Loki was so excited and tried to chase after it.

 

Another thing I found out about Loki and his line is that he likes to follow me around. I don’t know if its because he is afraid and knows I am a source of safety, or because he really loves me and wants me around. I’d like to think it is the latter.

It is the cutest thing. If he is near one tree and I walk to the other tree, he takes off running to follow me once he looks up and sees me so far away. If he is next to me and I take off running, he immediately starts running to follow me.

 

As an experiment once, I started running, Loki started to follow me, and then I stopped. He ended up running past me before he jerked around and went back to where I was.

Obviously, I have been nailed with the trolley line more than once as a result.

 

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time with Loki today. I had class until noon, but then I had to start work at 3 PM and I won’t be back home until 11:30 PM. I am hoping to make it up to him on another day.

Its not like he actually knows its his birthday, ne?

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To my Michigan-dwelling followers:

For the past two weeks or so, I had been doing research on cities in Michigan that allow domestically colored foxes. First I would look through a city’s code of ordinances. If foxes or other wild animals were not explicitly banned and I saw no other problems, I would contact the city manger about the validity of MI ST 342.43101, also known as Act 451 of 1994 and “the domestication law.”

Within the past couple days, I got into an argument with Wyoming, Michigan’s chief building official. He was insisting that foxes were not domestic animals - by his own definition - and I demanded that he show me proof of this. He unfortunately could not and repeatedly ignored my request of proof and official documentation, so I decided to do more of my own research on the Michigan government, and I stumbled across a trump card.

It is MCLS § 117.4j, which states that municipalities have “authority to pass all laws and ordinances relating to its municipal concerns subject to the constitution and general laws of this state.” Emphasis added. This has been held by case law to mean that a municipality is not allowed to enact an ordinance if the ordinance is in direct conflict with statutory law and scheme (Sherman Bowling Center v Roosevelt Park (1986) 154 Mich App 576, 397 NW2d 839).

This is the law itself (the third on the list).

And this explains the law and lists the reference.

A city cannot dismiss statutory law. The ordinances a city enacts merely adds to state law and federal law. So, according to this, a municipality is not allowed to say that a domestically colored fox is not a domestic animal. However, my city has a set list of prohibited animals. Our code of ordinances does not list any animal as “wild,” but instead merely bans them without explanation. In a city like this, if foxes were listed, this trump card would not apply.

Here is a link to MI ST 324.43101 if anyone needs it. 

I hope this will be helpful to anyone who is having trouble with their city official or the deciphering of their city’s ordinances.

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See you next time, folks, and I hope you all have a happy Easter!

-J.P.

(Source: theartfulfox)

Apologies.

Life has been a mess lately, with school, work, and moving preparations… Luckily now the winter semester is halfway over and I am on spring break, so I finally have time to post this.

What is this, you may ask? Well, legalizefoxes asked me to write up a small caresheet to share with the Alabama Conservation Advisory Board in her attempt to make domestic foxes legal there. Obviously I agreed – I had to help a fellow fox enthusiast!

So now, I will share my writings with all of you!

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FOXES AS DOMESTIC ANIMALS

Foxes, when raised right, can be intriguing and rewarding companions. Of course, these animals are not proper pets for everyone. While understanding the behavior of wild foxes is very important and can be very helpful, foxes have been raised in captivity for their fur for decades. Selective breeding is a common practice in fur farms, a practice that brings about domestication, and all pet foxes are descended from fur farm stock.

An important part in acquiring a fox is finding a reputable breeder. A good breeder will pull kits from their mother at an early age – usually when the kits are 10-21 days old – in order to bottle feed them and have them imprint on humans. A good breeder will send the kits to their new homes when they are about 4-8 weeks old. Some people don’t recommend buying a fox older than 6 weeks old. Foxes are not largely common as pets, so there is no right way to go about doing things. Different breeders believe in different practices.

Wild fox kits should never ever be taken in as pets. Especially if their eyes are already open. First of all, wild foxes do not have the amount of selective breeding that domestic foxes from a breeder have, so it can be very hard for them to adapt. Second, any orphaned animals that one might find most likely aren’t even orphaned at all, and their parents are probably nearby or out hunting. And even if one finds an orphaned fox kit close to its deceased parent, it is still illegal to take animals out of the wild. So one should let nature take its course or take the kit to a certified wildlife rehabilitation center.

It is of common acceptance among owners that foxes should be altered before 6 months of age. Altering slightly reduces urine and feces odor, as well as the chances of urine marking. Foxes should also receive a series of distemper and parvovirus vaccines, as well as a rabies vaccine. A killed or recombinant virus is preferred, however, a modified live virus is also acceptable – for parvovirus only. Some veterinarians prefer to administer ferret distemper and rabies vaccines, while other believe it is perfectly fine to administer canine distemper and rabies vaccines. My fox received a series of killed ferret distemper vaccines, a series of modified live parvovirus vaccines, and a killed ferret rabies vaccine.

Rabies isn’t as big of a problem in foxes as some a led to believe. If you see a fox active in daylight, that doesn’t mean that it is rabid. It’s actually normal and common for foxes to be active during the day. Skunks and raccoons suffer the most from rabies in the United States.  In fact, 38% of skunks, 31% of raccoons, 14% of bats, and only 4% of wild foxes carry rabies. Also, in Europe and Canada, the use of oral vaccines distributed in baits is effective, as rabies in foxes has been eliminated from most of Western Europe and decreased significantly in Ontario.

Aside from being vaccinated against certain diseases, foxes should also be protected against fleas, ticks and heartworm, much like a dog. Revolution, Advantage or Frontline Plus are the most commonly used flea and tick preventatives for foxes. I personally use Frontline Plus. HeartGuard can be used to protect against heartworm. Foxes must also be either de-wormed on a monthly basis, or be given a daily dosage of diatomaceous earth. If one chooses to de-worm their fox every month, most breeders and owners recommend using Panacur. I have chosen to go the diatomaceous earth route with my fox. Diatomaceous earth prevents worms and internal parasites as well as gets rid of them in a chemical-free way, but I also find it more cost effective. A fox between 10-20 lbs should be given 2 teaspoons of diatomaceous earth daily.

I do not trust major pet food companies. I personally recommend feeding any carnivorous pet – such as dogs, cats, ferrets, et cetera – a raw meat diet. Raw meat is the healthiest thing you can feed because there are no grains, starches, fillers and preservatives. When feeding raw, animals are only supposed to eat 2-3% of their ideal body weight per day. For my 12 lb fox, that would only be 5.75 oz of meat per day. 80% of that should be muscle meat, 10% should be raw bone, and the remaining 10% should be organ meat. Also, feeding raw meat reduces the size and smell of an animal’s waste.

However, not all people have the freezer space to feed raw, myself included. If that is the case, a fox can be fed a high quality dog food. DogFoodAdvisor.com can be used to determine appropriate foods. I would recommend using a puppy formula for the first year of life, if an all-life-stages formula is not being used. Taurine is very important for foxes. If taurine is not listed in the dog food’s ingredients, it must be given as a supplement. Very few dog foods have taurine in them. Cat food can be used as a supplement, but it should not exceed half of a fox’s daily food intake, because it is much too fatty and can cause some serious health problems.

Every morning, my fox gets a small saucer of plain natural unsweetened applesauce with ½ of a PetAg Taurine Tablet for cats and 2 teaspoons of diatomaceous earth mixed in. After he finishes what I call his “vitamin mush,” he gets 1 cup of Merrick* dog food with a hearty portion of raw meat. Lately the meat he has been getting is either chicken, cornish game hen, or turkey. He normally eats his raw meat first, or caches it for later. If he does run out of kibble during the day, I do not deny him any more. I let him eat his fill.

Most foxes are not indoor pets. While some can adapt to an inside life, most cannot and must be kept outdoors. Kits are usually kept indoors for the first six months of their lives, and for that time, an extra large dog crate can be suitable. After the first six months, an outdoor kennel is a non-negotiable requirement. My fox plays in his kennel during the day, but sleeps in his crate because I do not feel comfortable leaving him outside alone at night. A fox’s outdoor kennel should be no smaller than 8 feet by 12 feet by 6 feet high or 10 feet by 10 feet by 6 feet high. The bigger the kennel – the better. The smaller a kennel is, the more enrichment it should have. Logs and tree branches to climb on are a favorite, along with kiddie pools filled with either water or sand.

Like dogs, foxes love toys and to play. However, foxes are very rough on their things and toys will have to be replaced frequently. Tough, durable toys really are the best. I have found that toys made by the brands Kong, ChuckIt, and Jolly Ball last the longest. My fox loves balls and ropes the best – he will actually play fetch by himself with them. Stuffed animals with squeakers should only be played with under strict supervision. Never play rough with a fox, as it will lead to undesirable behavior. Bite inhibition should be one of the first things taught to a domestic fox as a kit.

Walks are an enjoyable pastime for foxes. However, the safest way to take a fox on a walk is with a harness. I have found that the H-style cat harnesses are the most secure and easiest to put on a fox. Some people have had success with Roman-style harnesses, but my fox is deathly afraid of the slipping-over-the-head motion. Retractable leashes should be avoided, and a strong 6-foot leash should be used for more control. Most foxes will refuse to walk on a leash properly like a dog, because a fox goes where a fox wants to go. You don’t walk the fox – the fox walks you.

Foxes should never be left alone with any sibling pets. While foxes and cats can get along, foxes tend to play rough and can accidently injure or kill a cat when playing. Dogs are a somewhat safer playmate as long as they do not have a high prey drive or are a breed that is known for having a high prey drive. If you have a dog that has killed squirrels, rabbits, woodchucks, et cetera, also having a pet fox is not a good idea. You must be careful when first bringing a fox home as a kit, because it is very possible that your baby will bond to your cat or your dog instead of you. Playtime should be limited during the first six months of age so you can form a proper bond.

Generally, most foxes are one-person animals. However, with proper and extensive socialization, foxes can be just as friendly with strangers as dogs. My fox has two people he “loves,” two people he “likes,” and a handful of others that he “knows.” He loves my father and I, likes my sister and my mother, and knows all of my friends. I am frequently the victim of my fox urinating on my shoes or on the floor in excitement and happiness. Once he even jumped onto one of my friend’s lap while she was sitting at my kitchen table.

I honestly enjoy being a fox parent. I think its one of the best things you can be. There is no way to explain the happiness I feel when I come home and my baby rolls over at my feet, begging for a belly rub and his tail wind-milling around behind him. Foxes do not automatically trust you like a dog will, and that trust, once earned, is amazing, inspiring, and awe-inducing. Knowing that an animal that was once known as wild trusts you and loves you is the best thing ever. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

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RANDOM FOX FACTS**

1.)           Foxes are nocturnal hunters. Long winter nights provide extra cover for stalking prey that’s less plentiful to find. Scientists believe that, although foxes are members of the Canidae family, which includes wolves, domestic dogs and their natural predators, coyotes, foxes share a common ancestor with cats. Both have eyes with vertical pupils that allow them to see in any light condition yet offer poor visual acuity.

2.)           Cats’ and foxes’ eyes glow with an eerie light. A reflective coating on the back of their eyes, called the tapetum lucidum, delivers twice as much light to their retinas as to ours. Although this provides superior night vision, foxes rely more heavily on their acute senses of hearing and smell. There are more than 200 million olfactory receptors in the snout. Foxes can track prey as small as earthworms and insects.

3.)           The largest species of fox in South America is the culpeo, also known as the Andean wolf or Patagonian red fox. Adults stand 23½ to 47 inches long, have a black-tipped 12 to 18 inch brush (tail) and weigh up to 30 pounds. Humans are their only predator and the beautiful animals are plentiful throughout their range in the deciduous forests and grasslands between the Pacific coast and the windward side of the Andes.

4.)           Red foxes inhabit a relatively small territory and do not wander far in search of food. Unlike wolves and coyotes, which travel in small packs, foxes live in pairs and take turns hunting. Coyotes are a danger, especially to kits born in the spring. Coyotes will often share a fox’s territory with the two archenemies dividing up the land and avoiding each other. If space is limited, coyotes will drive away the shier foxes.

5.)           Red foxes mate for life and return to the same birthing den every year, which must be located near a source of water. After a gestation period of only 7 or 8 weeks, a litter of pups or kits is born. Both parents share in taking care of their young. Summer field trips teach the kits how to scavenge for food and practice important social behaviors such as marking their territory with urine.

6.)           Play fighting prepares young kits for adulthood when males (dogs) will rear up on their hind legs and push their forepaws against each other in a fight for territory or a female (vixen). With teeth bared and ear flattened, they seldom inflict serious injury, merely trying to knock each other over to assert their dominance. The display may be repeated several times, interrupted with chases, snapping and snarling.

7.)           Foxes resemble cats more than dogs in the way they move. They are stealthy hunters. Between each foot pad and on the bottom of their paws, foxes have fur to insulate their toes against cold and to mute their steps. Their body frames are light, with thin legs that make them extremely agile for soundless, graceful stalking and sudden pouncing. Each foot has four claws for pinning prey, even in deep snow.

8.)           Fox kits are born between February and April. While females may stay with their parents, young males leave the family at the end of the fall, seeking to establish their own territory. It will be similar to the one they’ve just left, where there’s an abundant source of fresh water and a great diversity of animal life and plants to forage. Instinct drives the dog to find a secure place to support the family he’ll soon have.

9.)           Foxes are important members of the ecosystem, keeping rodent populations in check and helping to control insects. The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is plentiful throughout its range. In North America, global warming and habitat loss are pushing red foxes farther north. Unable to tolerate the constant sub-zero weather, however, they don’t venture beyond Yukon Flats Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

10.)        In North America, rabies is not nearly as common among foxes as people believe. Britain’s strict quarantine laws have prevented the virus from being established there. In other European countries, most notably Switzerland, aggressive vaccination programs have virtually eradicated the disease. Foxes are successful, opportunistic hunters which has also contributed to their undeserved bad rep.

11.)        The arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) is well adapted to live in harsh northern climates. Its luxuriant, oily fur provides camouflage year round. Thick, warm and snowy white in winter, it renders the fox virtually invisible to prey. The white fur is molted and replaced by a thinner grey and brown coat that blends into spring’s landscape. Like their main predator, the polar bear, arctic foxes are adept ice floe travelers.

12.)        Fox hunting started in Europe in the 1400s. A century later, colonists in America and Australia imported the European red fox, not realizing the species was already native to their new homelands. Red foxes have been known to live 9 to 14 years in captivity but usually only survive only 2 to 3 years in the wild. In 2005, the United Kingdom made it a criminal offence to hunt foxes with dogs.

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* = Since this article has been written, I have begun to feed Loki Infinia dog food. Because Infinia has taurine added to it, he no longer needs a taurine supplement. However, he still gets a daily dosage of diatomaceous earth.

** = These facts are copied directly from a fox calendar that I had in 2012. I do not claim that any of these are correct, so I do not hold any responsibility if they are actually found to be false.

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 In other news, Loki has been shedding like crazy. That is all.

-J.P.

(Source: theartfulfox)

Happy New Year!

I have been meaning to sit down and write this blog post for the past couple weeks, but, I’m sure as you know the holidays are an extremely busy time for everyone. For me, this busy time started at the very beginning of December due to finals.

I admit, I was very worried about my grades. A few of my finals were completely written and the information had to me memorized. Because of this, between the 5^th and the 17^th, I was pretty much locked away in my room. I do feel bad and guilty because I did not spend as much time with Loki as I normally do during that time. However, I believe I have made it up to him since then.

On another important note, Loki now gets some raw meat every day along with his kibble. Loki has been eating Merrick Whole Earth Farms puppy food – which is a 4 out of 5 star food according to DogFoodAdvisor – but now he is eating less kibble with a hearty portion of raw chicken or turkey. I have been lucky to have found some great prices for meat recently, and even more lucky to have cleaned out a portion of my freezer for it all. 

Believe it or not, feeding your carnivorous pet a raw meat diet is actually quite affordable. It’s also much, much healthier too. When feeding raw, you actually feed less because there are no fillers or questionable ingredients. You should only feed 2-3% of your pet’s ideal body weight. 80% of that should be muscle meat, 10% should be bone, and the last 10% should be organ meat. 

You need to watch out for sodium content in store-bought meats though. A lot of commercial meats are enhanced with broth for taste. This can sometimes be remedied by soaking the raw meat in water for a couple of days, while changing the water frequently, but only sometimes.

I am actually quite lucky. A few weeks ago I found whole chickens on sale for $0.77 per pound at Kroger. I bought a couple nearly-five-pounders for Loki. And then, two days before Christmas, whole turkeys were also on sale for $0.77 per pound. I managed to find a 22.8-pound turkey, which cost me about $18, but it was so worth it. I had the butcher at Kroger saw the entire thing into 2.5-inch cubes, because it would be impossible for me to cut my way through the thick leg bones.

You should always feed your pets the best that you can afford. They don’t deserve some stinking Walmart brand made with corn and practically no meat. Never buy anything made by Nestle Purina – not to be confused with Purina Mills.

And that is why, as soon as Loki’s Merrick Whole Earth Farms food is gone, I will be switching him to Infinia – which is a 5 out of 5 star food according to DogFoodAdvisor. Along with his raw meat, of course! I found this brand of food by accident, but I am so glad that I did because it is actually very affordable. 

You are probably curious as to how I found Infinia “by accident.” As you know, last month I put some straw and cedar wood shavings down in Loki’s kennel to hopefully prevent smell and him from going to the bathroom everywhere. Unfortunately, straw only last about a month, and the person at the farmer’s market that I got the straw from is no longer there because it is too late in the season.

So, my father was kind enough to do some digging for me and managed to find a place about 20 minutes away called Highland Feed & Supply. This place is amazing! They sell bales of straw for $4 and large containers of wood shavings for $3. I paid $10 for one bale of straw at the farmer’s market, and $10 for the same amount of wood shavings at the store.

At first I was unaware of what else they sell, but then my father offhandedly said, “Maybe they even have Loki’s food there and you can get it cheaper.” I was intrigued, so I checked their website. On their products page I found a bunch of foods that I had already heard of; Exclusive, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Taste of the Wild, Diamond… they didn’t list prices though.

And then I went to their special offers page, and I saw an ad for, “buy 8, get 1 free on Infinia dog food.” I had never heard of Infinia before, so I checked DogFoodAdvisor and, lo and behold, it was a 5 star food. I wasn’t quite sure if they had it, because it wasn’t listed under their products, and I wasn’t sure on how many pounds you got for what price, so I tucked the name away in the back of my mind until I was able to get over there and check for myself.

It was about a week later in the morning on Christmas Eve that I was finally able to drive over there. They were unfortunately out of straw… However, the employee that I talked to was extremely helpful, and his aunt once had a fox, too. He suggested that I use pine wood shavings instead of cedar, and then showed me the aisles of dog food. I was surprised to find that they carried Wysong, and then I found it.

Infinia is actually very affordable for its quality – especially compared to other 5 star brands. I can get 30 pounds of it for only $40. After I expressed my interest in the food, the employee who was helping me loaded me up with a ton of samples of the food.

I have been mixing the samples in with Loki’s current food and putting it into his Kong Wobbler. I also use the sample kibble as treats. Loki really enjoys it and I am excited to be switching him whenever I get around to it.

Speaking of Loki’s Kong Wobbler, I actually had to give it to him early. He has a habit of “beating up” his water bottle if I don’t let him run around much before I bring him inside for bed. I figured the Kong Wobbler would be a good way to distract him – because, you know, food – from his water bottle, especially because when he smacks the Wobbler, it comes right back.

And, hey, guess what? I was right! But I’m usually right – and that’s not just me being cocky.

I must say, 2012 has been a really good year.

I hope 2013 is even better! 

-J.P.

(Source: theartfulfox)

I meant to post an update weeks ago. I had so much that I wanted to document! Unfortunately, the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and beyond have just gotten busier and busier. After college midterms in October passed, the work has just been piling up. So, today I managed to take some time out of worrying over my college algebra final to finally write this blog post!

Weeks ago, my dad and I discussed an issue in regards to Loki and his kennel. Everyone knows that foxes in general like to mark. Everyone knows that foxes in general like to mark their food. This is why I have Loki’s food and water dishes crocked onto the walls of his kennel.

Unfortunately, Loki was either consistently not using his outdoor litterbox, or consistently marking the area around his food and water dishes. It was turning into a major sanitary issue for everyone in our household. No matter how much poop I scraped up with a flat head shovel, there was still more – more becoming embedded in the OSB that we have down to protect our deck.

Before I really did anything, I wanted to make sure he was consistently marking and not just refusing to use his litter box. So, as an experiment, I moved his food dish across his kennel to be crocked on the opposite wall.

Within about a week, I was certain that marking was the issue, as there was poop on both sides of his kennel now. And now matter how much poop I once again scraped up, there was always some left because Loki had a tendency to step in his waste and get it all over.

At that point smell was starting to become an issue – which I would like to say did not smell skunky like fox waste is supposed to smell like – and I was at a loss for what to do. So, one night my dad and I put Loki to bed early, and we spent the rest of the cold, chilly night spraying a bleach solution down all over his kennel floor.

While the bleach helped with the smell, and the germs as well, I’m sure, I knew that things couldn’t continue that way. The cycle would just continue, and it would become harder and harder to spray down bleach with the weather getting colder and colder.

Then I suggested to my dad something that didn’t really make sense. “Let’s put some straw down,” I said. I remember he looked at me with a curious look on his face as he asked me what good that would do. “I hope that he would like the straw so much that he wouldn’t want to poop on it anymore.”

We were becoming desperate and willing to try anything, so the next day my dad went down to the farmer’s market and bought four half-bales of straw. The farmer he bought the straw from also suggested putting down some wood shavings to absorb any urine that did not make its way into the litter box. So at the last minute I ran out to Meijer to buy a huge bag of shaved cedar wood small animal bedding.

It was early evening by the time we took everything out of his kennel, spread the straw and wood shaving mixture down on the floor, and replaced all of Loki’s things. And when I brought Loki back outside to see this new development…

…He went crazy!

He loved the straw so much. He was burying his head in it, digging in it, kicking it up into the air, eating it… So despite whether this plan worked or not, at least I knew that the straw would be a big source of enrichment for him.

Anyway, I’m knocking on wood here, but I haven’t seen as much waste as I used to. Actually, unless he is now burying his marks – which really wouldn’t make sense as that would sort of defeat the purpose – I haven’t seen much at all. I noticed a little bit of waste near his corner of tree branches today, but that’s it.

Or I suppose it is very possible that he is continuing to mark and not use his litter box, and the waste is just getting covered by the straw when he digs and kicks it all around.

Well, at least the straw and wood shavings mixture does a great job on smell control!

He also sleeps all over his kennel now.

 

On another note, on the same day that I picked up the cedar wood shavings from Meijer, I also picked up a two-pack of Cornish hens. I had been thinking about it for a while, and I wanted Loki to have a special meat-dinner for Thanksgiving. I was originally going to buy him a whole turkey but decided against it. I also dabbled in the idea of a whole duck, but then I would have had to buy two, one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas.

Starting on Thanksgiving, he has been getting raw meat every day. He absolutely loves it! The first time I gave him a larger chunk of raw meat – as he has gotten smaller chunks before when the family cooks dinner – he ran around his kennel with it in his mouth and whined for a good half hour. I eventually had to trick it away from him to cut it into smaller chunks for him to eat it.

He has now graduated to other cuts of meat with larger bones, such as the legs, and can chomp through them in less than two minutes. It is amazing and somewhat scary to watch, knowing what he can do with those teeth of his.

Unfortunately, Loki’s Thanksgiving Cornish hen will be finished off sometime this weekend, and our refrigerator is so packed that I won’t be able to continue this. I would love to buy a freezer and store meat for him in there, but there simply isn’t space. Once I move next fall, I want to put him on a raw meat diet.

The good news is that Loki has another Cornish hen to eat around Christmas!

Speaking of Christmas, my little guy sure is spoiled. I’ve already spent more on him that I did on my parents and sister’s presents, and I haven’t even finished shopping for him yet.

So far he has his own custom stocking.

 

A small Kong Wobbler treat dispensing toy.

 

And a blue 4.5 inch Jolly Ball Romp N Roll.

 

I also intend on getting him a brand new collar. Yes, on Christmas he will finally be graduating from a breakaway cat collar to a small rolled leather dog collar with all of his tags and even a bell! I haven’t bought his new collar yet, but it will be in my possession sometime before Christmas.

I can’t wait to see how grown up my baby looks!

Anyway, to close off this blog post, I will leave you with pictures of the many fox ornaments I have acquired for my Christmas tree this year.

 

 

I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving!

-J.P.

(Source: theartfulfox)

So, my lovely readers, I have a story to tell you all.

It was my birthday last Friday, and my parents had planned a small get together at a nearby restaurant to celebrate. Because of this little “party,” my parents also wanted to get me a sheet cake from Costco. We, unfortunately, do not have a Costco membership, so my mother’s friend brought us with her to order my cake.

Anyhow, no, this story has nothing to do with me, or my party. This story has to do with my mother’s friend, who I will call Jane Doe.

On the way back from ordering my cake, Jane Doe started telling my mother about a monkey that had been on the loose in Florida. I do not know all of the details, considering I have not heard about this situation myself, but someone had apparently set their monkey free, or it escaped, and people had been feeding it.

So, Jane Doe had ranted about how people should not have been feeding this “wild monkey,” how it was a “dangerous animal,” and how people should not be allowed to own those types of animals.

This conversation and her blatant anti-exotic-pet tirade did not sit well with me. So, I butted in and said, “You know, if Loki somehow got away from me, I should hope people would be kind enough to feed him for me, because he doesn’t have any survival skills.”

 

At that moment I could see that Jane Doe had forgotten about me in the backseat, and that she didn’t know what to say. She hesitated for a few more moments before she finally managed to say, “Well, you have identification on him, don’t you?” I calmly had to tell her, “No. He is still wearing a breakaway cat collar and I don’t want to put his expensive, heavy duty tags on a collar that could potentially fall off and get lost.”

Again, Jane Doe had no idea what to say, so I decided to throw in, “Oh, and monkeys aren’t wild animals. They’re not native so they are considered exotic.”

Jane Doe was finally able to get a word is in edgewise after that, and said, “Well, people shouldn’t be allowed to have animals that have the potential to turn on them and kill them.”

This made me even madder. “I know people that have bears,” I said. “Those bears are amazingly taken care of, and they have never once turned on their owners. As long as you do your research and know what you are getting yourself into, I think you should be able to own whatever the hell you want. But you also need to be realistic, because obviously you are going to have to be more cautious around a bear than, say, a skunk or a fox.”

My mother drove quietly during this whole exchange, and when we dropped Jane Doe off at her home, I expressed my anger to her about this whole situation. However, my main concern was this:

We always only hear about the bad exotic animal owners. The ones that make exotic animal owning look bad. The ones that cause statewide bans to happen. The ones that ruin everything for us responsible exotic animal owners.

Why do we never hear about responsible exotic animal ownership?

And then I haven’t even touched on television shows like “Animal Intervention” and “Fatal Attractions.” Where are the television shows, or even specials, about responsible exotic animal ownership?

There are none.

Animal Planet used to be an awesome, informative channel. I loved watching “Growing Up: <Whatever>.” And now they have crap like “Fatal Attractions,” “Call of the Wildman,” and “Too Cute!”. Want to know why? Because the majority of Animal Planet stocks are owned by animal rights activists.

 They should just rename the channel to “AR Planet.”

None of this is acceptable.

Things need to change.

———

Anyway, on a more Loki-related note, he started acting strange this week. At first I thought he could sense Hurricane Sandy coming toward us – yes, Michigan did get hit by the storm – but as the storm faded and the week went on, the strange behavior continued.

He cries whenever I touch him.

On Monday, when I was snapping his food bowl into its holder, the bell on his collar got stuck because he was in my way and his collar fell off. I had to corner him and pin him down in order to put his collar back on, and he cried the entire time.

Another example of this happened on Monday as well. In the early evening, while it wasn’t really raining, the wind was so crazy and strong that Loki’s kennel was shaking so I brought him inside for the night. Anyway, after I brought him in, I sat with him for a long time and rubbed his belly, and he cried the whole time.

At first I figured he was just upset about the impending Frankenstorm, but he was crying again this morning when I rubbed his belly before I took him outside to his kennel, so I am at a bit of a loss.

Is it the October Crazies? I don’t know.

If it is, however, it’s a lot subtler than I thought they would be, unless he will get worse as time goes on. But I guess only time will tell, you know?

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

-J.P.

(Source: theartfulfox)

So… I kind of wrote a thing?

Yes, Loki and I are alive, and no, we are not in the process of dying.

I wholeheartedly admit that I am a bad authoress. I have no right to be writing a blog about fox ownership when I have not been writing about my experiences. And while I will not bore you with excuses, I must point out that I do go to university, have hours of homework each night, have a job, and take care of my so-called “wild” animal.

In other words, I have a life, which tends to keep me very busy.

But, I will try harder to keep this blog in check and update somewhat frequently. The majority of fox blogs that I frequent(ed) are now inactive. I understand that life happens, but I want to break away from that pattern and continue updating to the best of my abilities, as that is my duty as an authoress.

Loki turned six months old last month in September. Because of this, and the fact that I have returned to school for the fall semester, he spends the majority of his time outside in his kennel now.

 

However, Loki still sleeps inside in his crate at night. And hopefully this will remain this way, as I would not feel comfortable leaving him outside while I am sleeping and cannot keep an eye on him through my kitchen and family room windows.

I will be moving next fall, and I sincerely hope that the house I will be living in will have an unfinished – or perhaps uncarpeted – basement where I can build a second indoor kennel for Loki to stay in when I am not home and during the night.

Unfortunately, this time outside has brought about some unwanted behaviors. Or, it could be the very likely case that Loki is beginning to go through his October Crazies.

He has become aggressive when he is outside, most usually at night. I normally cannot go see him for very long past 9 PM because of this. I have been bitten, had my face lunged at, had my head scratched and dug at, and, one time, I’m not quite sure what happened, but I had my eye bashed or scratched at, bitten or something. If I didn’t move away in time I do not know what would have happened.

So, for the past few weeks, I have not gone outside to see Loki at night. Or, if I do, I only go out for a few minutes before his aggression kicks in. Sometimes, however, I will pull up a lawn chair outside of Loki’s kennel and sit with him from the outside.

The thing is, Loki is usually fine during the daytime when its still light out. So I do not get it. Could this be the cause of the October Crazies? Could it just be that he is maturing? Could it be that he has been spending too much time alone outside? These are all plausible theories. 

On another note, I know that this is not much of an update, and for that I apologize.

However, there is one last thing I want to address before I close this very impromptu update. How many of you have heard of the Did-You-Kno Tumblr? Recently they have posted a “fact” that angered, annoyed, and frustrated me to no end.

 

The “fact” went a little like this: 

“You can buy tame foxes online. They cuddle like a cat, but act like a dog.”

The original post can be located here. There is no source.

Well, there is a source, but the link does not work.

I have contacted the Did-You-Kno Tumblr, urging them to take down this so-called “fact” or at least edit it until it is true. Foxes do not like to cuddle. You are very lucky if you happen to get a cuddly fox. Foxes also do not act like a dog. They act like a fox.

A couple nights ago when I was taking Loki on a walk, a woman stopped me to ask me if Loki was a real fox. I replied that yes, he was. And then she proceeded to ask me if he was more like a cat, or more like a dog. At this, I hesitated, because Loki acts like a fox, so I told her this. And when she continued to ask me what a fox acts like, I couldn’t find the correct words, so I merely told her that a fox does not act like a cat, nor does a fox act like a dog. It was the best I could do at the time.

And no one can pull the “US domestic versus Russian domesticated” argument on me, because it is a known fact that there is little-to-no difference between the two. They still stink, they still mark, and they are still destructive little balls of fur. The only difference between them is that one is way, way, way more expensive.

Edit: It has been brought to my attention that I could be offending some people (meaning I know exactly who) by saying there is little-to-no difference between the US domestic foxes and the Russian domesticated foxes. So, I will publicly admit that the Russian domesticated foxes are slightly more friendly around strangers. Aside from that, however, I cannot think of any substantial differences.

Also, because there is no source, I have no idea if they are referring to SibFox or The Domestic Fox. But either way, their “fact” is still false.

 

So now you are probably wondering why I am even mentioning this. Well, here’s why: I have seen so many foxes up for rehoming this past summer alone just because the people who bought them did not to the proper research to understand these animals and their behavior.

Do you remember the Zanesville, Ohio incident? Ohio nearly passed some major bans that would have jeopardized the legality of foxes within the state. Everyone should know that one bad owner could ruin everything for the rest of us.

I do not want that to happen in Michigan. I do not want that to happen federally.

So if you have some spare time and you care enough about these animals, please contact the Did-You-Kno Tumblr and ask them to either remove or edit that atrocious “fact.”

Show these animals that you care.

-J.P.

(Source: theartfulfox)