Cat Fights… Mixed Signals

[lygray]

 Hello all,

I have been trying to bond my trio starting with the toughest ones first… my baby newbie Honey and my 4yr old Lola. They were doing great in the car and in the laundry basket. I then moved to the tub and they were ok, some dates were better than others. They would groom and then fight. I pulled them away each time. I went to buy an xpen and put them together in my living room with a litterbox. Honey seems scared to move around Lola but Lola does not seem to mind lying down, cleaning, and running about. Obviously Lola trusts Honey wont do a thing while Honey does not trust Lola. There has not been any scars… no deep bites, nothing like that. But I am confused, Lola nips at Honey and they start to circle. She also goes for Honey’s front paws and fur on her neck but she will just latch on to the fur, not grab skin. Should i be nervous.

I have been reading that using all three bunnies to bond might be better than one on one. Cinnabon is my 2yr old boy and he is very calm. He tends to be chill with everything but can be aggressive in a blue moon. He is bonded with Lola quite well. Should i put all three together? Will he help the bonding or will Lola just fight more? 

[mrmac]

I am assuming Honey is not spayed yet? Are both Lola and Cinnabon altered? Keep an eye on the nipping. A loud “NO!” would help break that concentration that Lola has when she is nipping or getting to intense. With my trio, I focused on one two bunny bond first. Doing group sessions did not work for my three. My already established pair would gang up and bully the new bun. It is really up to you whether to work one on one or do trio sessions. It may be helpful to try a group session to see how everyone works together.

[lygray]

Yes, all three have already been altered. Honey about four months ago. I wanted to get that out of the way first. I think I may try the trio session today as you suggested to see how they interact. Honey and Cinnabon are very meloncholy bunnies but I know Cinnabon will try to protect Lola sometimes. I guess I will see and then let you know what happened.

[lygray]

Ok. It seems Lola got a little more fiesty when all three were together but Cinnabon feel in love with Honey. If anything, Lola was trying to gang up on Honey but Cinnabon just kinda chilled with Honey and ignored Lola. Would it be be better for me to bond as a group?

[mrmac]

This is just how bonding two females can be. You said they get along now, but just have some little issues, right? Since you now know Lola and Cinnabon get along, I would still continue sessions with Lola and Honey. I would focus on some more stress sessions; the bath tub, car ride, top of washing machine, table/counter top, laundry basket/box on the lap or being carried around, etc. When Lola nips her, yell “NO!”, and push her head down onto the floor, this is a dominance move on your part. Is Lola asking to be groomed, Honey does not groom her, then she nips?

[lygray]

Yes, Lola asks then nips. Lola is stubborn though so I have to yell NO like three times then clobber her…. lol. And not really. Lola seems moody, one day she ignores Honey and others she hates her and chases her. Cinnabon is the one that gets along with Honey well.

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