other pets and rabbit?

[Elliriyanna]

I am adopting a rabbit soon and I also have a cat and dog, I know every pet is different but what are the chances he can eventually hang out with me outside his room?

My dog is part terrier but was raised with rats from 6 weeks and has proven to be non aggressive though I would never trust them alone out of arms reach. He is 10 lbs but I know they can still do damage.

My cat was raised with rats and hamsters and even mice, she does not harm them and prefers to follow from a distance ( this is a hamster) or just keep her distance. To this day she hunts nothing but bugs.

They are our only free range pets and I know they are predators and even though they are gentle that the rabbit will see them as such. Of course any initial meeting would be through the safety of his cage. I will watch for signs of stress from the rabbit.

But how many of you have dogs and cats and can still let your rabbit out to roam the house occasionally?

I would have to rabbit proof the house of course.

[Bam]

I have a German Shepherd dog and two free roam bunnies. I introduced the first bunny and the dog slowly, taking care to make it very very clear to the dog that the rabbit was NOT a toy, but a family member in his own right. It helped that my dog was 3 years old and obedience-trained.
With the second bunny the whole process went faster, much because my dog by then was an experienced bunny- sibling and knew that bunnies are to be respected. This has worked out fine for several years now, but the bunnies have refuges where they can run to and where the dog can’t reach, if they should ever need to take refuge from her. I haven’t been able to stop my dog from stealing the rabbits’ food though, but she won’t touch hay and as long as they have hay, they are fine even if she steals their kale (which she does if I turn my back) =)

Many BBers have dogs and cats as well as bunnies.

[Elliriyanna]

My dog is allergic to corn and wheat … Which there is probably some in the rabbit food so it wouldn’t be out in his free roam time it would be left in his cage.

The problem is my dog and cat are so small I cant really make refuge spots for him. But he would never be somewhere they can even see him unless I am home. He will be in a pen in my pet room. ( which will only be him and my turtles)

[LittlePuffyTail]

I have always just had bunnies and cats. When we got our first bunny, Stormy, we were worried about the cats scaring him. We should have been worried about the cats. He instilled a fear of bunnies in my cats! He loved to chase them out of “his” living room and would go after their tails if they were laying down. One cat, in particular, he liked to pick on. Never any injuries to either, though. Now that Stormy has passed on, my current 2 buns and 2 cats pretty much just ignore each other. Sometimes Bindi (bunny) will try to get Andy (cat) to groom him but Andy just looks confused and runs away.

My Mom had a Shih-Tzu who adored bunnies. She would act very motherly to them. She was the same when I was younger with my gpigs and hammies. Mom’s Westie, however, is not allowed anywhere near my buns. She has a very high prey drive and kills birds.

[Elliriyanna]

Ry does have a prey drive that is triggered when our cat darts but the worst of it is a chase and then he stops. He doesn’t even open his mouth or try to harm at all. But even that little bit of chase … Is too much for me to trust him with smaller animals outside of arms reach , our cat is 13 lbs and is bigger than him. This is a dog I trust in most situations, I am a babysitter and he comes to work with me, The woman I work for is a dog temperament evaluator for a rescue and she trusts him as well ( though any animal can bite in the wrong/right situation) But now I am just rambling.

My rat broke my cats tail I didn’t know at the time as she never showed signs of being injured and I thought he just grabbed the fluff, But ever since then Emma keeps her distance from small animals.

We have a rather … Special household. But I am glad to know some have had it work with both cats and dogs.

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