Exuberant Kitten and Fed Up Bunns

[patricks79]

Hello! 

I hope y’all can help, I’m at my wits end. 

We have two cats, two rabbits. We started with the one rabbit who had lost his companion, added an older cat. They got along fine, mostly ignored each other, but definitely provide the companionship we were hoping for. 

we went ahead and paired the rabbit with one from our local shelter, and that went perfect – they love each other.

Still needed a friend for our cat though. Someone we knew was adopting out kittens, only had one left, and was about to send it to a shelter – so we took her in.

They got along great for a few months. The kitten was 7 weeks old, and the rabbits weren’t shy about setting boundaries when she got too rambunctious. 

Fast forward to today, kitten is seven months and now equal to them in size and weight. She keeps chasing them around the house and harassing them, and they don’t seem keen on sticking up for themselves anymore. I’m thinking the rabbits aren’t playing because they’ll run, hide, and start thumping like mad, and any time they hear the kitten’s collar bell now they tense up. 

Anyone have any ideas on how to solve this? Do I let the kitten chase until the buns have had enough and nip back? I don’t want to pen the rabbits up again, they’ve been so happy having run of the house.

Thanks in advance

[BanditCamp]

You shouldn’t let the cat chase them period. It will thing any or all training or comfort your buns have of the space they most likely won’t come out to play as much as they think they will be harmed.

I would separate the cat when their out to play.

[Mikey]

Your rabbits have stopped fighting back; theyve already become terrified. Do note that rabbits can die from stressed and the problems stress causes (stasis, heart attacks, seizures, ect). You solve this by keeping the cat away from your bunnies. Give the rabbits a room or floor where the cats are not allowed. This way the rabbits still have a good amount of play room, and wont be terrorized by your cats

[patricks79]

That’s not what I wanted to hear, but the truth seldom is

It is very helpful to know that not only is letting them work it out themselves not a desirable option, but it’s not an option at all
It really only happens in the evening after their dinner time. Probably because of nocturnal kitten / crepuscular bunn. During the day the bunns chill back in the bedroom and the kitten leaves them alone.

I guess we could pen them up during that time, as well as overnight when we can’t supervise – and let them loose during the day when the kitten doesn’t chase.

[Hazel]

Cats and rabbits can become friends, but there have to be very strict rules for the cat about what is and what isn’t appropriate behavior around the bun. The cat should never see the rabbit as a toy or even a playmate. She should never be allowed to chase them, stalk them, paw at them, pounce on them or even look at them with that “ready to strike” hunting look. Cats are predators, rabbits are prey. They play in different ways, what a cat might think is fun and games, a rabbit will find terrifying. The only way the cat should be allowed near the rabbits is if she’s calm and relaxed. If she gets excited, take her away and play with her until she’s “laying on her side and won’t get back up” tired. Don’t do this near the rabbits, so the cat won’t associate them with playtime. You have to pay very close attention to the cat’s behavior, you want to correct her as soon as possible (as soon as she starts staring at them like prey, or getting tense). You don’t want to wait until things escalate further than that. And remember, a tired kitty is a good kitty!

[patricks79]

thank you so much, your responses have been very helpful!

[Author]

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