I would bring them in immediately.  I don’t see anyway that you’d be able to control the cat from getting into the yard.  And not only that..there’s birds thay prey on rabbits, bears, raccoons, etc.. Any of these things could get into your yard..with or without a fence.  They’re not safe out there. I know you wouldn’t want them in a cage, but what about bun proofing some spots in the house for them? or a pen?  They could still go outside when supervised..but I don’t think them being outside alone is a good idea at all.

Catch the cat and take it to the Humane Society or Animal Shelter- the owners will most likely have to pay to get the animal back to reimburse for the care it has received.  Or if you have a local shelter, Humane Society call them and ask if they have any suggestions- local ordinances, laws, etc.

Or worst case scenario- buy a large covered dog run- and then depending on your bunnies side cover the sides so they can’t get their heads stuck in the large holes.

I have a horrible neighbor too- but for entirely different reasons.  Bad neighbors are almost worse than bad co-workers. 

Hi! First off I just want to let you know that you are very welcome here, however we really enoucourage you to bring your rabbits inside and also be aware that our focus is really on house rabbits. Did you know that rabbits can literally be scared to death? There are a number of hazzards and not just that reason alone, but rabbits are very social animals and love to be where us humans are too and make really great indoor pets. Besides, it is much more comfortsble than being outside. Can you describe the neurotic behavior? Were the rabbits always kept outdoors prior to you purchasing/adopting them? What is their history? I am really interested to see if we can help you bring them indoors again by working through all the things that made you put them outside. Predators are so hard to keep away from a rabbit outside and even though they are large rabbits, they are a prey animal and will always have prey instincts. You can always house them in an x-pen which is not a cage per-say but just a way to limit their space. How big was the cage you had for them? Where was it? What kind of environment was it in? These are all factors that could be attributed to the behavior from your rabbits. Also, are they fixed (this factors in a lot with behavioral issues)?

welcome to BinkyBunny. i have many of the same questions that Scarlet has. i feel we need to know more info. in the meantime, is it possible for you to bring them inside, even if it’s just temporarily? if they must be outside, while we don’t advocate outdoor rabbits, there is a way you could make it work. it would involve a lot of time/money constructing secure and weather-proof outdoor housing/runs, but you could do it. that being said, i think it would be in the best interests of everyone to bring them inside. you could always construct a secure outdoor run for some limited, daytime outdoor exercise, but uncovered, unsupervised outdoor time is never a good idea. too many things can go horribly wrong.

you said:
I refuse to wait to make this a big deal until a rabbit gets hurt or visa versa, but I feel I don’t have much ground to stand on when our cats free roam as well.

i truly believe that the cat is the least of your worries. i would be worrying about dogs, coyotes, raccoons, hawks (other birds of prey), bears, mosquitos, fleas, ticks. depending on where you live, any number of these could be a very real threat.

Hi Strawberi chic,

First thing I would do is get a squirt bottle or squirt gun to “shoot” the cat with water instead of just shooing it away.

It sounds like the cat who is “plump and large. But it acts like its starving” may have either behavioral or medical problems that the owners don’t care about. If they don’t care about their own pet – they won’t care about yours either.

I must admit that all of my pets have lived inside, but have always gone outside to play. Mostly, because I am afraid of something like what you are describing happening and them getting hurt, or worse. I remember when I was a kid, we had a cat killed by our neighbors dog.

Think about bringing them inside, you can still let them outside to play. All so Check out the “Bunny Info : Cool Habitats : Other” section of this site – there is an amazing outdoor house/pen pictured there. Rabbits can live for 12 to 15 years – it is worth it to Keep them safe.

Welcome Strawberri, All good advice let us know what you decide to do!

Hello Strawberri – I don’t have much experience with this situation as all 8 of my bunnies live inside with me. I’ve found that the best way to keep mine happy inside is by providing them a large ex-pen with lots of room to run around.

Are your bunnies spayed/neutered? Sometimes bunnies can act a bit “neurotic” when they get older due to hormones from not being sayed or neutered. Doing so may greatly calm them down and make them easier to live with

Hey Strawberi chic,

Have you made any decisions about what you might do yet?
Please let us know.

hi strawberi, im no expert on the subject of indoor/ outdoor rabbits… but i also have a bunny who likes to be in the garden when she can. if you could make it work, you could give your bunnies the best of both worlds & have an indoor/ outdoor home for them? i’m moving house soon & am planning to get a ‘mini door’ put in the side of the summerhouse so my bunny can run around inside the summerhouse & have a large outdoor run with mesh all around to protect her, adjoining onto the ‘mini door’ so she can choose whether she wants to be in or out. If you could set something like that up, your bunnies would be protected from the neighbours cat by a large run, would have the choice to go inside if they were scared & could also get more interaction with you.

hope this helps

I think Electro has it right….I nice meshed in pen might be very nice!  I have seen these devices made for cats, so you can purchase pre made owns.  We had a cage rabbit growing up, she used to love roaming the garden in the summer.  She only did this while we were out, which back then would be dawn to dusk and then we’d cage her at night (sorry young and stupid!)  We eventually buried her underneath the rosebush she liked to nap under.

I think it’s very likely that this cat may have worms or a serious thyroid condition.  The worms would concern me that it may be passable to your rabbits (Katnip–possible?)  Animal behaviorists have found that outdoor pet debates are more due to the human’s own feelings than the pet.  Humans personalize pet responses “i.e. my kitten must miss it’s mother…my dog would be sad if he get’s neutered”.  Animal responses are behavioral NOT psychological!  I hope I explained this well.  I know that UPENN’s vet program used to have a link towards research on this, but I couldn’t find it currently.  I think HSUS had a link at one point as well.  Just food for thought!