Acorn is attacking the cats!

[angoralvr]

This weekend, Acorn decided he was going to start chasing Mercury which was fine at first. Mercury (and all my cats really) is amazing when it comes to the rabbits. He has never even thought about using his claws with either of them. Then Acorn decided he was actually going to bite Mercury though. I cannot let him keep doing this because I am afraid that if Mercury gets tired of it, he will use his claws with him. I don’t understand why this started all of a sudden. Acorn really likes Trinity, they were even grooming eachother and cuddling this weekend. So far it is just Mercury and just the one time but I was wondering if anyone here had any tips on dealing with this if it does happen again. Basically, I need to stop it before it does become a problem.

[Beka27]

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-11/cats-and-rabbits.html

this is a good article from HRS… with real-life examples…

[Beka27]

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/catsrabbit.html

look at this too, about cat bites!

 

edited to add:  Henri is used to the cats, but the cats are new to Acorn… so i guess after awhile he won’t bother them.  is Acorn upstairs permanently now?

[angoralvr]

Posted By Beka27 on 01/14/2008 8:13 AM

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/catsrabbit.html

look at this too, about cat bites!

 

edited to add:  Henri is used to the cats, but the cats are new to Acorn… so i guess after awhile he won’t bother them.  is Acorn upstairs permanently now?

When Acorn was downstairs, the cats would go down and visit him too and he came from a house with two cats so they are not completely new to him but they do stay mainly upstairs so they are around him more now I guess. I think Acorn is upstairs for good because he is now living with Henri.

[JK]

Thanks Beka for those links on cats. I may not want Edson & Daisy (cat & queen of the house) to hang out!  That’s kind of scary about cat scratches.  So far they could care less about each other but then Edson has never really ventured out  yet from his xpen!  My dream was to have them be buddies but mmmm  not so sure now.

[angoralvr]

Those links were helpful, thanks. I didn’t realize that it was actually common for the rabbit to take on the dominant behaviors with the cats. I am sure he will calm down after he has been upstairs longer.

[angoralvr]

Posted By knowltons4 on 01/14/2008 9:41 AM

Thanks Beka for those links on cats. I may not want Edson & Daisy (cat & queen of the house) to hang out!  That’s kind of scary about cat scratches.  So far they could care less about each other but then Edson has never really ventured out  yet from his xpen!  My dream was to have them be buddies but mmmm  not so sure now.

IMO, with cats and rabbits, it is really more an issue of you have to know your cats. NONE of my four cats have ever thought about using their claws or their teeth on the rabbits. More often then not, if Acorn or Henri is coming towards the cats, the cats just move out of their way. Just because it is possible for bad things to happen, I would not keep them apart completely. As long as you are aware of the possibilities and watch them closely at first, you may find out that they will indeed be good friends!

[JK]

Do they ever just hang out together?

[angoralvr]

Posted By knowltons4 on 01/14/2008 10:08 AM

Do they ever just hang out together?

Yep, in fact, Trinity seems to really like cuddling up with the bunnies. Acorn and her even groom each other!

[MarkBun]

The HRS once suggested getting Maryann a cat as a partner since she didn’t seem to like bunnies. But I don’t like having cats as pets.

[Scarlet_Rose]

You can try a squirt with the water bottle, though I wouldn’t want to frighten the cats more. You might want to get a gate up temporarily so the cats have a place exclusively their own and they can choose when they visit the bunnies.

[BrookL]

Angoragrl, do you have more pics of your rabbit? I tried to enlarge the pic you have on your settings when you post messages, but can’t find any way to do that. I would like to see more. She/He is adorable.

[angoralvr]

Sure do, in fact there are some pretty funny ones of Henri up right now. https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&forumid=6&postid=25438&view=topic.

 

[Lisa_43]

My cats like the rabbits, I am just scared they will chase and kill them.

The rabbits are new to the house and my cats love to watch them but I can’t predict what they will do.

[MooBunnay]

When you are dealing with a relationship between a predator and prey animal its always good to keep a close eye on the relationship – if anything, sometimes play for a predator animals can trigger real fear in a prey animal. I’ve worked with a few different rescuers who have had really good experiences with cats and dogs with bunnies, but it has always been with dogs and cats that the owners know their every move very well, and know that they would do no harm. In addition, if you aren’t sure how your other pets with act around your rabbit, introduce them slowly and for short periods of time at first (and not unsupervised) until you start to get a feel for how their relationship will be.

[5cats1bun]

Rocky has started doing this with the cats as well but only 2 of the cats will venture in his room or on the bed when rocky is on it. I think for rocky its

‘this is my space", not so much on the bed which is in another room. the other cats are kinda scared of my 3 lb rocky! though ceasar our cat did bop rocky on the head the other day for being mean to him but the 2 that  I let be in there with him would never use the claws which is a plus!

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