Cats and Rabbits... disaster??

Hello Everyone,

I have a housemate moving in with Mackerel and I on the weekend.

He has a rabbit.

I'm panicked at the thought that Mackerel might see the bunny as 'prey' - apparently she is used to wandering around the house and currently is living with two cats.. but I'm still nervous at the idea.

Is there anything that I can do to ensure that this doesn't happen?

I'm hoping that because Mack's an inside cat she wont KNOW that that's a very juicy, tasty meal hopping around right there. XD

I had a free-running house rabbit (Hunny Bunny ) when we first got Tailer. The two of them were best friends. He picked up some bunny mannerisms from her that I still see him doing to this day. And before we got Tailer, Bunny would go to my parents house and stay there whenever we went out of town. My mother has two adult cats, and Bunny got along just fine with both of them. We never had any problems at all...ever. And her male cat is very territorial. I also have a friend who had six cats and a rabbit with no problems...in fact, her rabbit was the undisputed dominant animal.

For the most part, I think that cats are smart enough to differentiate between the rabbit in the house and rabbits outside. I would take the introduction VERY slowly and VERY carefully, though. Remember that even scratches from a cat can be very harmful to a rabbit and bites are almost certainly fatal. I'd start by following the advice here about introducing cats and getting them used to each others' smells. When you do make the introduction, make sure they're well supervised and that both animals have a safe place to retreat to.

As long as you're cautious, it should be fine.

I don't ever plan on letting them alone together- but this has greatly reassured me. Thank you. :-)

Usually cats and rabbits will get on well together in the same household. Note that I say "usually". I would imagine if you introduce them slowly and with supervision for awhile, the same as when introducing another cat, it should work out OK. At least the rabbit is already used to cats, so it's just a matter of getting your cat used to the rabbit.

depends on the cat, but ive seen many cats go out and hunt rabbits but then act totally nice around pet house rabbits, they know the diff

Hassenpfeffer!

Thanks so much everyone! I'm feeling much calmer about the idea. :-)

Mackerel's still quite young, so hopefully she'll learn quickly that the bunny is friend not food.

I had a bunny and 5 cats and they got along fine. Of course, the rabbit was there first, and all but one of the cats were brought into the home as kittens so it helped having a big long-eared, buck toothed "cat" staring down at them! My rabbit also had the run of the house with the cats when we were home, so the introductions were done in a separate room away from the other cats, and I would hold Bunny (yeah, original name, I know) on my lap and let the new kitty sniff and get used to her.

They would usually puff up and "demonstrate" (basically looking like a halloween cat) but before long, they were sniffing and cleaning each other. The on adult I brought in didn't pay any attention to her...she knew the bunny was part of the family. But, I agree, don't leave them alone together for extended periods of time.

The CUTEST thing...the last kitten I brought in (this was at my old house and I had to rehome everyone), thought my bunny was his mommy...he ever learned how to hop like Bunny and would follow her everywhere! So, it is VERY possible!

I have two bunnies, and 23 cats which are all around each other 24/7. No problems whatsoever. The cats view them as just more cats. They are left unsupervised. Considering rabbits are around the same size (my male is the size of a cat, my female a little bit smaller) they don't view them as prey. I would never let my dogs around them period though.

House rabbits are usually tough characters. Also usually big enough that cats don't see them as prey. Cats usually eat baby bunnies, not adult rabbits. I wouldn't trust a cat around a tiny baby bun, but they usually do fine with adults. My cats are actually kind of scared of my rabbits! It's funny to see it.