Honeydew has never been a bitey or aggressive bun, but things have started to change. He now grunts and lunges when I reach into his pen (for whatever reason, picking up a stray poo, taking his litterbox out, or even to give a petting he was begging for). I think it has to do with him not knowing what is coming down into his cage, because if I made a very obvious effort for him to watch my arm decend completely, he seems more okay with it.
I think WHY this started was because back in early November (about) I got a kitten. Originally, she was perfectly fine with the bun and my other cat ignores the buns. However, she started to climb into the pen and harrass Honeydew. Obviously that is not okay and I immediately blocked her access to the bun room. She’s wicked fast and sometimes sneaks in when I walk in, but otherwise she hasn’t been able to harrass him for a number of months. Ever since though, he’s been a little more defensive. I was hoping that since she wasn’t coming in to harras him anymore, he would realize that he doesn’t need to worry about what’s coming down into his pen. That doesn’t seem to be the case though.
In addition, I got a second bun (a sort of pet store rescue) and she lives in a pen adjacent to his cage. Despite being together for 4 or so months, he is still somewhat aggressive towards her. It’s really only when she’s running around during her floor time or being hyper in her cage. She’s still too young to be spayed (just about a month left!!) so I can’t bond them yet.
I feel like my kitten harrassing him (though this doesn’t happen anymore) and then the stress of a new bunny in his space (even though it’s been a while) has really made this aggressive behavior fester.
Normally I could ignore it and would do so simply because I attributed it a lot to having the second bun in the area and was thinking it might clear up when I bond them. If it didn’t I was planning on sorting it from there.
However, Today, when replacing his litter box in his pen, he lunged and successfully bit me. He didn’t break skin, but it was enough to bruise and leave marks of his teeth. I believe it to be a warning bite of “get out of my space!”. I also think he’s gotten a bit more aggressive about when he wants something. He is also binkying a LOT less, clearly he seems to be a bit stressed. His eating and bathroom habits are normal though, so no need to worry there.
So, advice? :/ I can’t really move the second bun anywhere and I could put a towel against the side of the cage so that they can’t see each other, but then the cantaloupe (the second bun) will be fairly blocked in with just a wall to stare at. So preferably, it wouldn’t have to come to that.
Would a squirt bottle be applicable here? I have considered them, but I’m afraid of him not forgiving me if I use it. Many thanks!
edit: Oh, and he is neutered and I’ve had him for over a year now, so I can read his behavior fairly well.