I heard a newscast on NPR several years ago about foxes. There was this group that was studying them and if I remember correctly, they were working on identifying the gene that was responsible for the behavior that allowed for them to become trusting and want to be around humans aka domesticated. And they discovered that certain physical traits that could be seen came with this gene. Like how the ears looked, for instance. I found an article that talks about it.
I am fortunate to live in an older very tree-lined neighborhood in the city that has lots of wildlife. I actually saw a glimpse of a fox once driving home through the neighborhood. So cool. We also have coyotes, I've not seen them personally but neighbors have caught them on remote cameras in their yard and one reported seeing one when she was walking her dog. It had a cat in its mouth. Very scary. My cats don't go outside anymore. I would love to build a nice big screened-in catio for them so they could enjoy being outside safely.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com...domestication/