Bonded? But why do they keep chasing Mickey at night?

[Silwerkitty]

Hi guys, I’ve been struggling with this issue for months now. I’ve tried everything I could think of, but nothing seems to be working.

I have a bonded quartet: two nethie dwarfs (Renji – 2 years old, Suki – 1 year old), a cinnamon (Mickey – 7 months old) and a New Zealand black (Bella – 6 months old). Mickey was bonded to my dwarfs until he got snuffles and vet told me to seperate them. Once he was better, I started rebonding which seemed to go very well, and they’re fine during the day, but almost every evening and morning the nethies chase Mickey through the house. Renji starts and then Suki piles on. Mickey’s so on edge, he starts running the moment either one of them get near him, and that just seems to spur them on.

I thought adding a new bun to the mix would even things out, but even after the stress of bonding Bella to my little group, they still chase Mickey around and pull tiny tufts of hair from him. So I’ve been in bonding mode now for months and even though it got better when I was sleeping with them in the lounge during the whole bonding process, the moment I gave them more space, the chasing started again. Normally, my buns would have the run of my 2-bedroom flat, and I’m sure they’re frustrated at having their space so restricted, I just don’t know what else to do.

Today I’ve put Suki and Mickey in a small cage with a lovely big litterbox because Suki was acting particularly nasty towards him since last night, and right now, they’re spread out next to each other, fast asleep and spooning, but I’m sure if I let them out, tonight’s gonna be just the same.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? We’re all at our wit’s end.

[Sarita]

Have you tried one on one bonding first instead of throwing them all into the “mix”?

[Silwerkitty]

I do have one on one sessions with whoever’s making the most trouble on that day, so if Suki’s being mean to Mickey, I’ll put them in a cage together for a few hours until they seem chill with each other again. I keep that cage in the common area where the other buns are as well, because I don’t want the bond to properly break if they don’t see their pals for that long.

Is it possible that it’s fun for Renji to chase Mickey? He does do it during playtimes, so is it maybe just fun for him when Mickey runs away from him? I know Suki’s issue is to do with bonding, because when I cage her with Mickey, she’ll hump him every time, though they’re all neutered/spayed.

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