Bunny and Cat questions

[Sadie]

I have a very aloof cat, and a young bunny. I was thinking I’d introduce them slowly, just for a few minutes a day… what do you guys do to prevent bunny vs cat issues? My cat is older, declawed and fixed and the bunny is brand new (7 weeks now.) Any suggestions?

[Monkeybun]

Put one of them in a pet carrier, and let the other sniff around it. Pick up the carrier if they get too feisty. Allows them to get to know each other without the danger of bunny or kitty getting hurt.

[Beka27]

In many cases, buns and cats end up living together relatively harmoniously. Of course, you’ll always have your exceptions… and things may be difficult as puberty hits for the bun, but Monkey had a good suggestion with allowing them SAFE access to each other. For a long time you will only want to have them together supervised.

[Sadie]

good suggestions. I tried it with both the bunny and the cat on the floor with me as the referee and the results were really anticlimactic. No one seemed to care about anyone. I’m not going to get overly confident though, for now the cat is staying out of the “bunny room.”

[KatnipCrzy]

When I got Cotton as a youngster (first bunny) she seemed fine with the cats and even snuggled with them- but as Cotton got older and hormones took over she became “aggressive” towards the cats- they wanted to snuggle and sleep- and she presented her head to be groomed and when the cats did not groom her she would nip them in the belly.  So now the cats avoid the bunnies mostly.  When we have the bunnies out and have treats for the buns- all 3 rabbits will jump on on the couch- and give no respect to the cats personal space they will walk over them, etc- even if the cats vocalize they do not like to be stepped on.  So it is important to be there to referee as the bunny most likely will not hurt the cat- but the cat could accidentally hurt the bunny even if they are just trying to get away.

[mocha200]

my bunnys best friend is my cat emmitt i definently think you should try it.

[BinkyBunny]

This might be helpful – the HRS guide to cat and rabbits living together — http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-11/cats-and-rabbits.html

[MirBear]

my bunny’s both love my cats, im not sure if its because they think its another bunny or if they just dont care… (my cats and my bunnies are all siamese sables )

[RabbitPam]

Sometimes I think bunnies think they have a pet cat and a pet human.

While it appears that a cat can hurt a bunny initially, with claws and bites, don’t underestimate the bunny’s ability to do damage. Besides being much faster when they run away, given a chance they can roll back and kick with their powerful hind legs which can hurt a cat. As well as biting back.

But they do seem to get along much better than some for the most part, so once they are mature (post-puberty) and work out their relationship, they seem to stick with it. Adorable snuggle pix!

[Sadie]

I love the cat + bunny pics on the animal themed sheets!

I tried it again, this time it was a mostly through-the-bars interaction. The rabbit doesn’t seem to care about the cat, but the cat has definately become more curious about the bunny. The kitty bats at the bunny through the bars, and then the rabbit eventually gets bored and hops off to a part of her cage where the cat can’t get her. At least they’re not trying to kill each other, right?

[MirBear]

the kitty just wants to play, mine did at the begging, my cats are clawed so whenever my 1 cat tryed to swat the bunnies i would roll her on her back and she would stop.

[Cambridge]

Forgive me for the threadjack, but I have almost the exact same question so I saw no reason to create a new topic.

Some of you may know that I recently adopted a one year old female a few days ago. Last night was the first time she met my two cats – a 21 pound male Ragdoll (Lance) and a 14 pound female Ragdoll (Gwen).

All things considered the session went good. Sweetie absolutely adores Lance. She circled around him, chinned him, and then humped him furiously. Whenever she seems him walk past her while she’s in her cage she binkies. Lance, despite the fact that he’s a ginormous cat, was absolutely terrified by her behaviors and now is afraid to go anywhere near her. Sweetie shown very little interest in Gwen, and Gwen is completely indifferent about the bunny.

Now, I know from the bunny’s perspective this was a fantastic experience — she shown Lance that she’s the boss, and since he didn’t put up a fight she believes that she established ranking in the house. Lance, however, now avoids the bunny room like the plague.

My goal is to show Lance that bunnies aren’t evil creatures of doom. I’ve tried rolling my eyes at him and telling him that he’s a 21 pound cat and there’s no reason why he should be afraid of a bunny who shows affection to him, but apparently he’s not listening. ~_^ Sweetie is scheduled to be spayed on April 12th, so will she calm down a bit after her spay? She seems to like the company of cats, and I do not want my cats to feel afraid in their own home.

SWEETIE: I LOVE YOU LOVE YOU LOVE YOU. Oh, by the way… I’m the boss around here.
LANCE: SCARY MONSTER! *hides*

[Elrohwen]

Sweetie’s response to Lance should mellow a ton after her spay. Just give her some time. If a bunny ran after me trying to hump I would be scared too!

[Laura]

My cats are indoor only, and are scared of our rabbits, so it works out. The lady at the rabbit shelter said most cats will be scared, or just not interested in the rabbits.

[BinkyBunny]

Cambridge – your bunny should calm down once she is spayed, but unfortunately, that is no guarantee as rabbits follow different hierarchy rules than cats and so depending on how particular your bunny is about how closely the cats follow “the rules’, it could work out, or your cats could be further humiliated and insulted with her bossy ways. I don’t know many cats that will come out of from underneath a rabbit humping session with any sort of dignity. Doubt they will have any interest in revisiting that experience again.  (After your bunny is spayed, and her hormones have had time to calm down, you may try to get them in the same room and just pet them all, and keep your bunny from mounting your cats — that could be a deal breaker) 

Good Luck!

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