Help! Our cat is hissing at our baby bunny!

[JDro]

Hi everyone!

My wife and I just brought home a baby bunny (8 weeks old)!  Our adult cat has hissed at her a few times and it’s beginning to worry us.  We live in an apartment and do not have a ton of space, although we do have an extra bedroom we could move the bunny into as a last resort.

This is especially concerning to us because we previously had a rabbit that our cat got along with.  They were introduced about 5 years ago (adult rabbit moving into adult cats home); and while there was a lot of skepticism, they largely just avoided each other for a year or so, but there were no fights, chases, and certainly no hissing.

It’s only been two days, and I did not expect much, if any progress, but the hissing is something we were not expecting.  Our rabbit is resilient and hasn’t really been scared of our cat yet, but we know that won’t continue and we want our bunny to feel comfortable and safe.  It’s worth noting that our cat rarely hisses.

We’ve tried scent exchanges, we’ve been giving the cat her treats outside of the rabbits cage.  The cage is right next do my wife’s desk in the living room, and all times the cat has hissed the bunny has been in the cage.

Any recommendations on what to do would be helpful.  We would like to avoid at all costs having to move our baby bunny into a room that we aren’t frequently in.  Have any other folks experienced this introducing a baby rabbit to their cats?  What do you do when the cat hisses?  I’ve read elsewhere that punishing or yelling at the cat will only help to associate the rabbit with punishment.

Thanks!!

Justin & Laura

[Hazel]

Welcome to Binky Bunny! 🙂

Hissing is mainly a fear response, not necessarily aggression. Your cat is unsure about this new animal in her territory and is telling it to stay away. You’re right, punishing her (for being afraid) would just make things worse. If she was attacking/hunting the rabbit, that would be different (although in that case distraction/redirection would be the appropriate response rather than punishment).

The kitty needs some time to get used to the rabbit and to understand that it isn’t a threat. I would just leave her be, don’t try to force the situation, don’t try to make her interact with it. Let her figure it out in her own time. How does she react when the bunny is out of her cage?

[DanaNM]

I agree with Hazel, I think some more time will probably fix this since it’s only been 2 days.

You might allow the cat to thoroughly sniff the bun’s litter box (without the bun in it).

There is also a technique used on dogs when they are reactive to other dogs on leash, that you reward the animal when they are calm, even if it is far away from the trigger. So if your cat is calm when across the room from bun, you could give a treat there. Then if she wanders a bit closer and remains calm, treat again. If she hisses, I would speak in a soothing voice but do not treat or try to move her. If she backs away and is calm again, then give the treat. I’m not 100% sure this would work, but it’s what people do with dogs. Basically reward calmness and curiosity, but not fear or aggression.

Have you ever tried Feliway spray with your cat? It mimics a cat pheromone that makes them feel like their territory is secure. If she continues to act fearfully after a couple weeks, you might try it. I don’t use the diffuser around my buns, but I do use the spray from time to time when my cat gets agitated (usually over another cat outside). You could spray some areas around (but not directly next to) the bun to see if that calms her?

 

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[JDro]

Thanks Hazel!

I was thinking the same thing about the reason for the hissing.

We haven’t let the bunny out of the cage with the cat in the same room (one exception, when the cat was sleeping).  When we are holding our bunny our cat is sometimes interested, but nothing more, and sometimes goes and does her own thing.

I’m a bit worried about letting the bunny out with the cat around; they’re both way faster than my wife and I are and we don’t want our bunny to get hurt.  But I also think that taking the cat into another room may make her jealous and just drag this situation out or even make it worse.

Should we continue to let them observe each other through the rabbits cage for a few more days until they become more comfortable?  And continue to split them up when it’s playtime for the bunny?  Or, should we just see what happens if the bunny and cat are both out in the same room?

Thanks!

Justin

 

[DanaNM]

I would prob wait until your cat isn’t hissing at bun before doing playtime together, and I would carefully supervise since your bun is still so young. I have a cat and bunnies as well, but he does occasionally act predatory towards them so I have always monitored carefully when I get a new bun. My cats behavior seems more dependent on how the bunny behaves, and whether the bunny runs away or stands its ground.

I don’t think moving the cat to the other room will make her jealous. It will probably be a nice way for her to get slowly accustomed to bun’s scent, because while bun is out playing her scent will get more distributed in the room.

With a tiny 8 week old bun the cat’s prey drive can kick in (especially if bun gets the zoomies!) and the bun might get hurt, even though she is currently acting like a scaredy-cat . 🙂

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[JDro]

Thanks Dana!

I think we’ll stick with splitting up play time (for now) as you suggested.  When we do let the bunny out when the cat is in the room, we’ll be watching very very closely!

And I had not heard of Feliway, but this stuff looks great!  We’ll definitely order some if things don’t begin to improve.

Thanks again Hazel and Dana for the advice.

Justin

 

[DanaNM]

Great, hopefully things calm down!

And of course we would love to see pictures of your new bun! 🙂

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LBJ10]

I agree with what the others are saying. It sounds like your cat just needs a bit more time. Just because she accepted a bunny before doesn’t mean she is going to instantaneously welcome this newcomer. This doesn’t mean she won’t eventually accept the bunny though.

[JDro]

Tig 1

Tig 2

Scout & Zoey

As requested here are some pics!  Tig is our new baby bunny.  Zoey is our (usually very sweet) cat, and Scout is our bunny who passed on last month a few weeks shy of her 10th birthday.

Thanks again everyone for the warm welcome.  Will keep you posted on our progress with Tig and Zoey.

[DanaNM]

What cuties all around! I love Tig’s markings. <3

So sorry for your loss of Scout. 🙁  <3

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[JDro]

I know it’s only been a few short hours but it seems as if we’ve made some progress!  Tig ran around for about an hour last night before we went to bed, and for the first time explored Zoey’s bed and her toys.  This morning after we had let Tig out, my wife held her on the couch and we let Zoey out of the bedroom.  She came over to my wife, and nudged her hands (which Tig were in) showing affection.  We then fed Zoey a treat there and she scarfed it down.  Seems like we may have gotten past the fear phase!  We likely have a long way to go getting Zoey used to Tig being out and playing, but we feel so much better after their interactions so far today.

[DanaNM]

Aww that’s great! 🙂 <3

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LBJ10]

Sounds like progress to me! 🙂

[JDro]

So much progress!  Still many things to work on but we can’t believe how far they’ve come in just a few days.  Thank you all again for the advice.

[Hazel]

That’s great, nice job! They’re both adorable by the way! 😀

[DanaNM]

Aww that’s so great!  😀

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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