Some general questions

[Katie779]

I posted in the welcome forum about the baby bun I will be getting (one month from today!) and received a TON of great advice, but I have a few questions so I figured I’d just post them all together here in list form. Thanks in advance for the help!!

1. I’d like to start with a litter box with a grate, but if the baby bun has never used a box before will he/she understand the concept without litter to dig in? I’ll place the hay right above it and the food right next to it, but should I start with no grate first?

2. We just lost one of our cats and the remaining cat seems lonely. I was wondering how well cats and bunnies can get along if introduced slowly. The last thing I want to do is scare my baby bun, but I’d really like them to be able to interact. My cat is very nice, but can be a little playful. Anyone with experience on cat/bunny play time?

3. At what age should you begin offering greens and fresh foods? I’ve seen 4 months, 6 months and 8 months. And how long should you free feed a baby bun (unlimited pellets)?

I think thats all for now, but I’ll probably think of more later. Thanks!

[Lexidavoulas]

My bunny had never used a litter box before and ajusted in only a few days. What helped I think was that the only place in his cage with litter/bedding was in the litter box, with the food and water next to it. Just put it in a corner that the bunny has seemed to have established as their bathroom corner. One of my cats loves my bunny and to play with him but the other is afraid of him. I think it depends on the personality of both animals. My cat just came in the room to investigate and they became friends, i didnt force them to be together. I slowly started introducing small amounts of veg after about 4 months and my bunny is happy and healthy. Also Alfalfa hay for the first 6 months to a year to help them grow up strong and healthy! Hope I helped

[DebbieP]

Hello! We started with fresh greens around 6 months. When we got her we were told she was a boy. Took her to get neutered, maybe around age 1 and turns out he is a she. lol In our experience, once she was spayed it resolved all litter box issues. It was like spaying her flipped a switch. Right now we have a big corner litter box (that’s in the room she is in) and a small one in her cage. Since having free run of her room, she no longer uses the litter box in her cage.

I have no idea about cats but I do have 2 dogs. The bunny loves to play with the dogs. 

[MoveDiagonally]

Honestly, I think a cat sized litter box without a grate is better than the corner litter boxes with a grate. I purchased the corner boxes when I first got rabbits but they didn’t work out so well.Here’s a good article on training/litter box training:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/training.html

A great source for diet info for all ages can be found here:
http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/

Cats and bunnies can get along but they should always be supervised. A cat scratch can abscess on a bunny very quickly. My cats mostly ignore my bunnies. Every once in a while when they both want cuddle time they interact.

[Katie779]

I wasn’t planning on getting one of those corner boxes, but a cat box with attached grate (the store I work at sells them). I guess I’ll try a regular box first, though. My cat is actually declawed so scratching shouldn’t be an issue, I was more worried about the bunny being too scared of the cat. The cat doesn’t have access to the room the bunny will be in unless I let her in.

[Katie779]

Debbie, a female can be spayed earlier than a year, correct? Or is it safer to wait until that age?

[MoveDiagonally]

Females get spayed at varied ages usually depending on your vets preference. I’ve heard as early as 4 months but that waiting until 6 months is recommended due to estrogen assisting with bone development/growth.

One of my female rabbits was spayed at 2 years old (rescue rabbit) and the other two at 6 months.

[Katie779]

6 months is about what I expected, thanks!

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