Cat and rabbit introduction

[litheandgraphic]

I’m not sure this is the correct place for this, so sorry if it isn’t. C:

I think we tried to rush things a little bit by trying to introduce our cat, Olive, to the new bunny. We have been bonding with him over the past day and a half, and let cat and rabbit smell each other from under the door to the room where the rabbit lives. That went decently, but then after a few hours we decided we may want to let Theo see Olive so that he can get used to her. We followed advice in books and online about giving them both treats at the time of introduction, and at first it went okay. Olive, who is a very shy but sweet cat by nature, is extremely scared and uncertain of the bun. She simply sat in the doorway and observed him.

Theo, on the other hand, was at first extremely relaxed and nonplussed, and then suddenly sat up and began thumping. We immediately closed off the room and got Olive away, and I stayed in the room in the attempt to soothe him and also gave him a little bit more cilantro.

Eventually he stopped stamping, thank goodness. But now I’m worried. It’s highly probable that we just pushed things too fast, but now I’m wondering how we’re going to introduce them at all without scaring little Theo. What’s more, is I don’t want to undo all of the bonding we’ve already done.

Should we wait, and bond with Theo ourselves for the next few weeks? When should we try again? Maybe we just need to take things a lot slower?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated for this first-time bunny human. C:

Thanks!!

[tech]

Is the rabbit spay/neutered? You should first bond with the rabbit so he atleast feels safe when he is around the cat knowing that there is someone he is used to that will protect him, Don’t get them too close to each other too soon, The rabbit is not used to the environment yet but eventually he will, Do not panic, this happened to everyone of us. Just get the rabbit away from the cat for a couple of days till it gets used to it’s new home as you said he is a new rabbit.
Goodluck and I hope everything works out just fine for you!

[Tessie]

Hello again Theodorable!

I don’t have a cat, so hopefully someone else who does will give some input.

But I would say not to worry too much, if Theo hasn’t encountered a cat before it’s natural for him to be cautious and unsure of what’s going on. To me it doesn’t sound like you’ve terrified him or anything! I always think of thumping more as ‘I don’t like that’ rather than ‘I’m scared’.
I would say it’s probably alright to continue to let them get used to each other. Like I said, someone with a cat will chime in I’m sure!

As for bonding with him yourself, it’s really up to you! You can bond with him and also have him get used to Olive. Don’t overthink it

[litheandgraphic]

Thanks so much for your insight guys!!

It’s comforting to know he’s okay. I guess I’m learning not to overthink and over worry. It’s making things easier.

Tech – yep, he’s neutered. I think we will give him some time and space and allow him to trust us more before we try introducing them again.

[MMK]

I think it took me about 2.5 months to get to the point where I was comfortable having my two cats out free range with my rabbits (of course under supervision).

I introduced them within the first 4 days I think, so they did get to know each other, while I was getting to know my rabbit. I started with an introduction through the x-pen and let them sniff each other. I did this for about a week. My older cat jumped in to the x-pen/run at about a week, so I let them see each other face to face. The rabbit really liked them and was always trying to sniff them, which freaked the cats right out. haha I did this for about 2-3 weeks allowing the older cat to come in. Note it was very large and away from the rabbits “home” in my office. I let my younger cat meet him face to face at about a month.

After that they continued to progress. I had to squirt the kitten once or twice to keep him from becoming to rambunctious with the rabbit. this helped a lot. Now they are very good together! Once in a blue moon, the rabbit will thump at them still. It’s never when they are bothering him though….very odd. It seems to be more when they aren’t paying attention haha

They have worked it out!

<a href="http://s1008.photobucket.com/user/H&#8230;.jpeg.html” target=”_blank”><img src="http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums…1a88c.jpeg” border=”0″ alt=” photo r3_zps3c21a88c.jpeg”/>

[litheandgraphic]

Awwww, that photo is adorable . Thank you for sharing your experience. It’s kind of a relief to know it will take some time but can happen after said time has passed.

I think we are going to try another introduction again in a couple of days, and we’ll see how it goes.

Thanks so much!

[mossling]

Every time you add in a new step, it’s going to upset the status quo some. Letting them get use to smells first is a good start, sight does come next. Theo doesn’t sound scared, just annoyed. Normally, my rabbits start in the house caged, so I eventually open the door to my room so the cat can come in and investigate, while the bun still feels safe. Since you have your bun in a room, maybe try blocking the door with a baby gate or xpen (2 baby gates stacked work well if your cat jumps one), that way they can become accustomed to each others sights and smells while keeping them both safe. Theo may thump, but he will adjust!

My cat and rabbits play and snuggle, but I still don’t leave them unsupervised, mainly because the cat is young and rambunctious.

Pond and Blueberry love each other. Here is Pond grooming Blueberry.

[Author]

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