Help! Rabbit is very aggressive towards one cat.

[kellyt]

Hello:

I have four cats and two flemish giants, Minka and Jukka.  Minka is trying to injure my male cat.  The buns are almost 5 months old and both are fixed.  Minka is very much in charge.  I have never had a female rabbit before her and am not used to her territorial ways.  She is very bossy and has it out for one of my cats Nic.  She has also recently started charging my other male cat Cooper but has not taken things to the extreme she does with Nic.  Nic and Minka did not get off to a good start when she came home as a baby.  He hit her several times and hissed at her.  He normally does fine with rabbits and has no problem with Jukka or our previous rabbit.  It seemed like he was more trying to put her in her place than hurt her.  Minka is very forward and was jumping on top of him and getting right in his face which he didn’t appreciate.  Things seemed to calm down for a while but now she is out to kill him.  She will find him sleeping and pounce on him and try and dig fiercely, like she’s trying to disembowel him or something.  She also woke him up one day by biting him in the head and then proceeding to try and “dig him to death.”  I have broken them up multiple times.  Nic tries to just ignore her and she will charge him and chase him until he jumps out of her reach. Nic is 14 years old and he can outrun her now but I’m concerned about this escalating further.  I have no idea how to rectify this situation.  I don’t know if she is trying to get him to submit to her or if she just hates him and wants him out of her territory.  She has also recently started bullying our other male cat also. She hasn’t try to injure him yet but she does charge him to get him to move out of her way and will jump onto the couch and pounce on top of him like she is testing him to see what he will do.  She is quite a handful.  Also, since she’s a flemish giant, controlling her is a bit more difficult.  On a side note, Minka and Jukka are a bonded pair and last week got in a fight.  They started circling and some fur went flying so we separated them.  They are now friends again but I’m wondering if there is hormonal or teenage stuff going on.  I don’t know if I should be doing some sort of bonding process between the cat and bun or what.  Any info from someone more rabbit savy would be greatly appreciated.

Kelly, Minka and Jukka

[Sarita]

It sounds like she doesn’t trust the cats to me and this is her defense mechanism. Since cats are natural predators and rabbits are prey, what you may have interpreted as him trying to put her in her place was threatening to her.

Can you keep the cats out of the rabbit’s room or area?

[kellyt]

I unfortunately can’t easily keep the cats out. The buns have run of our family room when we are home and the cats usually just jump the fence to hang out with everyone. The rabbits are up in a separate area with their cages when we aren’t home. She shows no aggression to the female cats. Even lets them in her cage with her, presents herself for grooming, etc. Her and Nic just really got off on the wrong foot. If she’s feeling threatened, is it normal for her to attack him without provocation? The poor guy is sleeping and getting attacked. No way to attempt to rebuild trust? Or should I just supervise them at all times they may interact?

[Stickerbunny]

How long has she been spayed? At 5 months, likely not too long?

[kellyt]

They both got fixed April 21st. As soon as his testicles descended we got them fixed. She went crazy right at 3 months when his testicles became noticeable and they had to be separated. They lived separate for several weeks after surgery and then have been rebonded successfully. I was wondering if hormones could be involved even though she was fixed. They both are being terrors right now (chewing everything in sight) but she is way worse and very territorial all of a sudden.

[BearMom]

Well – now I know its not just my furry family! My rabbit, Bear, likes to chase one of my three cats – Goose. Bear is a female and so is Goose. Bear is actually pretty good friends with my other female cat, Mouse, and the male cat (Chicken) and her pretty much just ignore each other.

Bear goes after Goose pretty good too! But Goose has plenty of places to run away too and Bear just leaves her alone once she jumps up on something. She pretty much just charges Goose when she walks near Bear’s “area”. Sometimes she will chase Goose quite a ways though, and it sure upsets Goose! Odd thing is they’ve never faught. I wonder if Bear has just figured out that if she is going to pick on one of the cats to say “I’m boss” Goose is likely the one she can get away with doing it too. Chicken likes to beat up on Goose too, and I think Bear may have figured it out from that. Goose is now afraid of all rabbits, lol!

Anyway, I guess I don’t have much for advice, other than to tell you that you are not the only one. And Bear is no flemish giant, she is a mini-lop. It doesn’t work with Bear (she just ignores it), but maybe having a spray bottle handy to spray her with when she goes after the cat would help. Or maybe clapping your hands or something – just something to distract her when you can tell she is going for the cat.

Man – just never thought that the rabbit going after the cats would be the problem.

[LoveChaCha]

Oh, some rabbits are silly I have a picture of a rabbit chasing a scared dog.

[Khaleesi’s mom]

Thanks for posting. I’m new here and new to bunny care. My bunny Khaleesi was spayed a month ago and is now aggressively lunging at and chasing my 3 legged cat Sammy who can’t get away easily. Good to know this could be a territorial thing. Sad for Sammy though – this was to be his new companion

[Deleted User]

Posted By Khaleesi’s mom on 12/05/2017 3:30 AM
Thanks for posting. I’m new here and new to bunny care. My bunny Khaleesi was spayed a month ago and is now aggressively lunging at and chasing my 3 legged cat Sammy who can’t get away easily. Good to know this could be a territorial thing. Sad for Sammy though – this was to be his new companion

This thread is from 2011 and forum leaders advise to not respond to old threads as to not add confusion. You can make your own topic on the matter and will get responses more specific to your situation. I would advise that your rabbit and cat pairing is probably not a good idea though. There are instances where rabbits and cats appear to get on but this is more a tolerance of each other. It is not usually advisable to get a companion of a different species, rabbits are much better with their own kind. Also considering your cat is already at a disadvantage due to only having three legs it doesn’t sound like a good idea to me. Hopefully other members may be able to advise better if you start a new topic

[Bam]

Hi Kaleesi’s mum!

Eddyw111 is correct about re-opening old threads. You are very welcome to start a new thread on the same subject if you like. You can do that using this link:
https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/afv/post/aff/3/Default.aspx

For some time after a spay a girl bun can be extra territorial and aggressive. It’s because her body and brain is adjusting to the hormonal changes that occur after a spay. It’s known as a post-spay craze and may go on for several weeks or months. It is normal, though. Boy buns get it too after their neuter, but it usually stops sooner than it does with girl rabbits.

I think you should separate cat and bun for now.

I’m locking this thread now, hope to see you in another one soon!

[Author]

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