Are Foxes Related to Dogs or Cats? The Absolute Answer 

What do you think about foxes being related to dogs and not cats?

Foxes are members of the Canidae family alongside the canines (dogs, wolves, coyotes, jackals, and dingos), tanukis/raccoon dogs, maned wolves, and gray foxes (technically a separate branch from foxes). Many elements of fox behavior, psychology, physiology, and elements of their biology appear to be shared with cats due to Convergent Evolution (a principle of life adaptation where animals of separate genus, families, and tribes branches develop the same traits due to their universal usefulness for survival within a particular ecological niche, regardless of their tribe of origin). So since both foxes and cats are crepuscular/nocturnal ambush predators that rely upon stealth and sneak attacks to catch vermin prey, they developed much of the same traits for improving survivability in that role.

Foxes and Hyenas both have this cool liminality

Foxes are the most "feline" canine, and cheetahs seem to be the most "canine" feline. To be expected I guess considering they had the same distant relative.

I use to be a landscaper in the country and the foxes acted exaclty like my bobcats and cats...always wondered wtf they are

The 'nose' gives away that they are NOT cats.

Wait if foxes are related to dogs then isn’t it odd to think about people using dogs to hunt foxes?

foxes are the only canids with semi-retractable claws

This was a fantastic video. They really are amazing animals.

Tbh I never really understood why people think foxes are cats, they are actually in fact closer to walruses than cats, as walruses and foxes are both caniforms along with other canines, other pinnipeds, ursids, and mustelids. Thank you for clearing this up for everyone who is confused

Thanks for the well put-together info!! Also, they are SO cute!!

i can't believe dogs are color blind and yet cats aren't but have the slit pupils like reptiles, i could see fish being colorblind or maybe an animal that is nocturnal, but what other animals are too cause it makes no sense

I just love foxes!! 🦊💖

I chose to think they are related to dogs bc of the shape of their jaws.

Why am I watching this at 1 am😂 I have school tomorrow😭

I suppose its like a parrot andca penguin. Both are birds. Bit both live differently

I have been confuse between fox and wolf...they both look like a dog to me

Dude this is incredibly organized! I love it

Kurama is the best Fox!

The Beginning music really had some Twin Peaks vibes lol

I love foxes I’m lucky enough today to see 3 in one day in various neighborhoods it’s crazy

Great video man! Thanks for explaining!

I dont get the fact that the same species kill eachother like coyotes dogs just kill foxes i just want them to get along lol.

My friend Nolan he thinks that fox’s are cats lol but that is not true🤓

I had no idea. Nicely done, very informative. Great video to watch and an eye opener of information. Won't look at foxes the same way again.

Other theory suggest that the origin of Fox happened 10,000 years ago when a cat adopted wolf cub

Thank you for answering the question right away... And those that want to hear more details can.. unlike other RU-vidrs who force us to listen to the whole video before giving answer.

3:12 DOGS have twice the number of neurons in their cerebral cortex compared to cats. YOU'RE SAYING THE OPPOSITE. Where do you get your facts from?

i clicked on this video because of the insane title. also foxes are part of the canine family. but that does not mean they are not closely related to cats. cats and dogs are closer related than a lot of mammal family's. they are all canivormes.

Fascinating. Great video!

Even c.s Lewis knew this in Narnia when he said you wolves hunted your cousins

I learned so much from this! Thanks!

Foxes didn't evolve from wolves Wtf lol and domestic cats did not come from tigers lmao

4:30 anyone else hear the cat purr? Or is it something else?

I was walking up a road at 2:00 in the morning , an there was pure bin bags on the road, I saw about 9 of them together in a gang I had to Run

Its always been a pet peeve that many assume foxes are cats. Like come on.

Every child under 7 says “what kind of dog is that?” And then they say ohhhh it’s a fox. And then they ask, is it a dog or a cat 😂

what person thinks foxes are related to cats lol.

I have seen articles that indicate that gray foxes live longer than red foxes by almost twice the number of years. Is this true?

If you are interested, my friend and I made a video talking about foxes and other wild canines on this channel.

Foxes are amazing in that they sometimes just don't seem like a real animal. They seem like something an ancient god would have created on a whimsy to have something cool to look at and guard the wilds. The bright red ones are like irl pokemon

My dad was owned pet fox when hi was kig

They look more like dogs but behave more like cats

How the heck would u relate a fox with a cat?? They do not look alike at all, just look a its face... It looks like a dog.

Great vid!

I still can't believe bears are not the sumo version of dogs.

Very good explanation

Great video, man! But I have a question.. "What does the fox say?" :D

Some citations and more details would be much appreciated. But overall correct, nice video.

This video was great it answered my question

I love foxes. They're like dog cats

So a wolf screwed a tiger or cat got it

I know that foxes are wolfs are a theory I mean we don’t know yet we won’t around 5m years ago but foxes do have some cat traits like foxes will eat cat food and dog food that’s some evidence right there

Thanks 👍🏼

Foxs = A Cat-Dog Hyenas = A Dog-Cat

A fox is a dog I don’t understand why that’s so hard to understand just like lions cheetahs tigers are all cats

Thanks for doing this video. I have a very unique situation I hope you can answer. The National Wildlife Center nearby not only didn't have an answer, they told me foxes are more feline than canine which is why they couldn't answer my question. I have a very severe allergy to cat saliva. Not their dander, their saliva. The smaller they are, the more toxic they are to me. A hissing adult anywhere near me closes my airway. A hissing KITTEN, blisters my skin, closes my airway & sends me into anaphylaxis shock requiring 3 Epipens between here & the hospital. You think Epipens are expensive, they cost WAY more on an ambulance & they won't use yours. (Yup) We are on the very edge of town & our backyard has direct access to the woods. We have a fox family in the neighborhood that are a joy to watch year after year. For 2 weeks I have suspected they've been in the yard because my service dog has changed her behavior when I let her out. She still has perfect recall but she's changed the pattern she takes when let out. This week, I started smelling a what to me smells like a cat box. My husband is noseblind & can't smell it. I have an extremely sensitive olfactory so it's strong to me. Well tonight I saw what it is. One of the foxes that was from last year's litter has moved in under our house. My husband accidentally left the crawlspace open last week. Since they are so much like cats & the little ones even hiss/spit, do we need to have them rehomed? I don't mind them living under the house. I know Mama isn't under there with them, mama's stay nearby. I know that under THIS house it is safest for them to mouse. Living right here we always have them. Not in the house because my service dog is a blue nosed pit & terrier breeds make great mousers. But even if she didn't mouse we still wouldn't put out something like D-Con because we also have a barred owl couple that lives in our backyard. A red tail hawk couple that live in a cedar out front & hunt the fields around the rural airport across the street. A family of bald eagles hunt there as well & live in the part of the woods that butts up to the river. Every year we see entire bald eagle families dead in the fields because farmers & other neighbors use D-Con. They way an eagle sits when it has died of poison is very distinctive & its usually the direct result of D-Con used in a house & a fox or cat eating it then the eagle finding the carcass & taking it back to the nesting area.

0:28 I’ve seen this comment before

finally, a channel for me

Amazing how I found the exact comment which said the quote.

I noticed behavioral changes to foxes over in Japan, over there they have basically a free roam zoo over in the Miyagi prefecture. 宮城蔵王キツネ村 as it's titled, literally translated as "Miyagi Zaou Fox village".

I love your videos, even Chad Foxx

Fact: you searched for this

The forbidden doge 🦊

3:16 what's about tarsiers?

I think foxes are in the middle cause cats and dogs have the same ancestor

Both cats and dogs have the same ancestor. And it is not a wolf. Wolf is just a close relative. Wolf, cats, dogs and foxes are came from miacis. Years ago they were just this one animal. So, just saying that fox is related to dogs or cats is not correct.

Hi my name is Thomas Love ? How many different fox species in North America?😎

It has nothing to do with evolution its just a different breed of wild dog

why do dogs hate their cousin fox ?

Where did you get this false information? Cats didn’t evolve from tigers LOL. They evolved from the African Wildcat. A simple google search will tell you…

Foxes are dogs because only dogs stick together while mating

I feel like foxes are like the missing link between canids and Felids lol

Canine or feline

So i cant play with them bcuz i cant play with dogs

to be honest, my cat like chocolate so much..

Christ Almighty. You must be Canadian.

I think foxes are dogs.

It’s “interesting” not inner resting!!! Please!!

TL;DW They are distantly related to both of them. Between the two, they are more closely related to dogs.

Neither

Foxes are 55% a cat 35% a dog and 10% wolf

And I hate to break it to this guy but no foxes have nothing similar with cats In fact I actually have more similar with chihuahuas than they do any other animal And if you do your research you'll find out Chihuahuas actually have a ancestor that is a fox from Mexico

Foxes are not descended from wolves they are volpus not canis