Confrontational Rabbit: Defensive Cat

[ZooLady]

My newly adopted cat tends to really get into it with my rabbit.   (Both are neutered.) The instigator here is definately the bunny, but I worry about his eyes getting scratched in a tussle!  Any ideas on how to make my little bunner less confrontational?  He can’t stand any other pet in “his” room.

Stressful seeing my babies fight!

[bunnytowne]

OH my  only 2 things I can think of is spray bottle or keep cat out of bunny’s room.  Well I would say declaw the cat but well… if he gets loose outside  cat is in big trouble.

[Adalaide]

Apparently my husband and I will never own a cat (aside from that furball he has now.) He thinks cats do not need to be spayed/neutered. He also thinks that they shouldn’t be declawed, he lets his cat outside. His cat keeps getting in fights and coming home injured. His cat is also super destructive and claws all the furniture and rugs. (He’s worse than Freya, and that’s pretty bad.) I feel that if a cat never, ever, ever is allowed out of the house, declawing them is fine. It saves furniture and curtains and rugs… it saves bunnies! If kitty is always inside and knows enough not to dart out a door, no reason not to get rid of those little bunny killer claws. Of course, this is simply my opinion. (My husband also thinks his cat should meet Freya. LMAO, bad idea for kitty. That furball harms one hair on her body and it’s the pound for him, I swear it.)

[KatnipCrzy]

If the bunny views a certain room as “theirs”- I would keep the cat out of the room, at least for now.

Try having the bunny and the cat meet in an area that is neutral to the bunny.

Bunnies are very prone to abscesses- especially from a cat bite or scratch that is a puncture wound- as the surface heals but the lingering bacteria can not escape and forms a huge pocket of infection.  It is usually weeks later that an abscess becomes apparent or ruptures.  I know that we had a member on here that had her bunny (Sparty’s) leg swell up- she posted the x-rays on a thread here- and she suspected the infection had started from a play fight/wrestle with her cat/kitten. 

One of my bunnies can be very dominant over the cats- insisting they groom her and when they do not she will nip them in the belly.  For that reason2 of my cats don’t care for Cotton at all and clearly don’t trust her and will not cuddle with her anymore.   My youngest cat, Pixel, is forgiving enough and will still occasionally cuddle and groom even though Cotton and her split personality one day soaks the attention up and the next day is bossing her around and trying to nip her.  But there has never been outright aggression- “I am gonna hurt you” actions.

Cats play so differently than bunnies do though- cats kick and bite to play- and a typical rabbit isn’t going to view that as “play”- that is more of a threatening behavior to them.

[BinkyBunny]

Our Cat – P-Kitty is very mellow and only occasionally shows curiosity. Normally, he’ll find a safe place to sit out of their way. But for the the reasons that Katnip mentioned, I don’t want to take a chance of them getting scratched even in accidental play. It’s so true that even a minor scratch from a cat can really cause some nasty infections sometimes. I have heard this happening time and time again over the years, even from careful fosters from the rescue I volunteered with. So, I just make sure that when I am not supervising that I have the gate to the bunnyroom closed. Do you have any way to close off the cat from the bunny’s area?

I know someone recommended declawing the cat, but I just wanted to add my 2 cents about that- I personally do not recommend declawing a cat. I never knew what it really entailed – just figured it was removing the nail – but after working at the humane society and the spca during my college summers, and finding out what really went into declawing I personally wouldn’t choose to do this now. I would definitely research all you can about it first IF you ever decided to go this route.

However, they do have these little plastic things you can put on your cats claws. I am not sure how long they last – I think you have to replace them every couple of months or so? (anyone heard of these) Or at least use them while you are working on a solution.

Also, this article about cats and rabbit relationship may be helpful for you. http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-11/cats-and-rabbits.html

 

[RabbitPam]

I just did a little research because I had heard of the plastic covers for claws and it looks like the news may be good. There is a product called Softpaws, which is a set of stick ons that go onto your cat’s claws. Another forum for pets had a discussion about them from users, and they seemed to find that younger cats tolerated them easily, older cats may find them objectionable. They occasionally fall off, but that’s not harmful. The cats who have used them seem to be fine, and it was recommended by cat owners who tried them as a good way to protect their homes and persons from clawing. There is a website for them, but of course, they recommend their own product so I searched for these more objective opinions before reporting back.

P. S. I know it doesn’t address your basic problem between them, but just supplements BB’s suggestion. I once was told that in a fight, a rabbit would win. But as someone who gets cat scratch fever but not a problem from bunny scratches, it may be worth considering.

[KatnipCrzy]

I have used Soft Paws (or Soft Claws) on my own cats many times- and applied to numerous client’s kitties.

It is best to hve 2 people one to hold the cat and the other to trim the nails and apply the caps.  If you are comfortable trimming nails- applying the nail caps is not much harder.  Even though they have tons of cool colors- I suggest starting with clear so you can get an idea of how much glue is really needed.  The caps gradually fall off- not all at once- so you replace as needed.

I used to put blue nails on my silver tabby- and that was sharp looking!  (I might even have a pic) and I also have put purple nails on my dark red tabby- so he looked like a representative of a International shipping Co- orange and purple!  But since he failed to collect even a single paycheck from FedEx- I moved onto other colors when I applied them.

 

[Beka27]

LOL Katnip!

I know I’m late on this thread but I would try to have a cat-free area for the bunny. Sometimes buns can get along with animals of other species, sometimes they can’t and this is going to depend greatly on the animals involved. Better safe than sorry since it’s not possible to supervise cats at all times…

Along with what BB said, the opinions on declawing cats have certainly changed in recent years. The last time we had cats, years ago, the vet gladly declawed the front paws and left the back alone. Nowadays, it is a bit more difficult to find a vet willing to do this surgery, in my area at least. I think it’s one of those things that you need to decide for yourself BEFORE getting a cat. If possible clawing behavior is not something you will put up with, maybe a cat is not the right pet for you…

[KatnipCrzy]

The only pic I could find was my Silver Tabby- Mooney (Moonshine) with the purple nail caps.  Even when they have their nails retracted in a normal position you can see the caps- but I also have a pic of what it looks like when the nails are extended.  He must have gotten one off on the right foot before I took the pics (these pics are about 6 years ago).  (And he has a large shaved spot on his neck from donating blood to another kitty).

 

 

[MooBunnay]

Those are such a great idea! I have not ever seen those before. It seems like a very good alternative to de-clawing, I am not very familiar with cats but I have heard that declawing has some potentially bad effects.

Anyways, onto the confrontational bunny. It sounds like he is being quite territorial which is a pretty difficult situation because I’m not really sure how to make a bunny be NOT territorial, but allowing them to meet in a neutral area like was previously suggested seems like a good idea to me. Also, spending a lot of time with the two of them together may help, by petting both of them maybe you can teach them that they are both important to you, and it might help them start to get along. I think that it may be a good idea for them to only spend time together supervised, because it is true that their skin can tear and abcess very easily. For that reason, I would make sure to check your rabbit over very closely for the next few days just to make sure there are not any cuts or abcesses.

[skunklionshow]

I have 4 cats and 3 rabbits (1 is a newby, just acquired Sat), anyway, I don’t usually let the rabbits free roam w/ the cats.  All my cats have their claws.  HOwever, my biggest issue was that the rabbits would pee all over the cat’s beds & rugs.  That in turn usually caused the cats to swat the rabbit or nip on their heads.  Their swats were always w/o claws, but I always had reservations.  So in general, they stay in their bunny condo and come out when they can be supervised. 

Over time the bonded pair found ways to break out of their condo to go for romps first thing in the morning.  No problems w/ the cats, but cats & rabbits do not really “get” each other.  As I type I’m supervising my new rabbit w/ the cats.  His prob is that he likes to hump them (he’s horney and will be fixed soon).  It’s getting pretty dangerous for the little guy.  The cats do not appreciate the “affection” and the rabbit doesn’t understand the culture of cats.  Max (cat) does this licky licky bite bite thing when playing  or relaxing w/ the other cats.  This bozo bunny thinks Max is grooming him.  He bows his head and turns into a little puddle.

The issue w/ declawing:  It’s basically a toe amputation.  The claw goes up to the first, sometimes 2nd joint, of the toe.  In order to declaw you must remove the toe up to the 1st or 2nd joint.  I do not believe in declawing.  I feel that you can behavioral train your cats to not claw up the house.  However, I believe in declawing if it is an issue w/ keeping  or giving a cat a home or needing to rehome.  My mom declaws all her cats…I don’t agree w/ this, but then she wouldn’t have 4 cats if she didn’t.  This means that 4 more cats would be homeless.  She also had her cat scratch the cornea of her other cat.  This never healed and was always an issue for infection.

[ZooLady]

THank you all for taking the time to help.
I just heard about soft claws the other day from a friend, and I will pick some up as soon as possible for the offending cat. I would never declaw my cats just as I would never cut the tips of anyones fingers off! This is a much more agreeable alternative. KatnipKrazy–I enjoyed the pictures. LoL.

It’s near impossible for me to keep my cats away from the rabbits as I have a fairly small basement apartment. And given that the two buns I have are nowhere near bonded yet, they have to stay in opposite rooms, one of which the kitties will have no choice but to be in. Fortunately, the offending rabbit is in my bedroom, which I can close the door to when I leave. I just wouldn’t like having him locked away all day from the rest of the family and was interested in hearing your opinions. Thanks.

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