okay can ANYONE explain this? I never understood it!

Hello

Has anyone noticed that usually when we bring a rabbit mouse rat hamster whatever it is in the house our cats will usually accept them most of the time and not try to eat them? YET thesee same cats wwould go out hunting and killing similair creatures when let outside? Is there a reason for this?? Ive just seen it ttime and time again cats of mine that wouldnt hurt my girbil would come home with a mouth full rat!


I have seen many many cats bring home full grown rabbits yet im sure if their owners brought home a pet rabbit they would be able to live with it peacefully. Does the same logic apply to dogs? like for example many dogs will gladly kill chickens ducks cats rabbits but wont dare touch any of their owners "pets"


Just wondered if anyone had the answer to this!

I have no experience with cats and small animals, but DH's friend had a Husky and a rabbit. His roomate let the rabbit out of the cage and went out, he came home to find the Husky had killed the poor rabbit.

My first guess is that you're probably just lucky. My second guess is that perhaps any animal considered to be a pet by the cat's human isn't viewed as prey. I've heard of cats getting along with what would normally be prey animals, too, and it must be something about the way the cat views the animal that's different than normal.

A predator's instinct to hunt and kill is always present. It doesn't show on "other" pets because the predator looks at them as part of its family. I am sure that the new rabbit/hamster/bird is not just let loose the first day it arrives and the cat/dog welcome it with kisses and pats. There's always a period for intros and stuff.

Originally Posted by yayi

A predator's instinct to hunt and kill is always present. It doesn't show on "other" pets because the predator looks at them as part of its family. I am sure that the new rabbit/hamster/bird is not just let loose the first day it arrives and the cat/dog welcome it with kisses and pats. There's always a period for intros and stuff.

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The smell is also a bit different I'd imagine.

When I raised rats and Egyptian spiney mice, my cats ignored them completely, if one escaped however, they were considered fair game to my male.

While I'm not sure of the exact mechanism behind it, I suspect it has something to do with them recognizing that a rodent/lagomorph (rabbit) that lives in the home is loved by their human, and that they would be offending/hurting their human by disposing of that friend. While one that lives outside is fair game, and not loved or nurtured by the human.

From my own experience of bringing home our bunny, Maisie, about a month ago, they were excited about her at first. I'm sure her movements spark something a bit wild in them, but they ultimately see me petting her and caring for her, so I think when they saw that, they realized Maisie wasn't a meal, or a toy, but a family member. It's funny...they treat her like another cat. I got them Soft Paws, and they've batted her a couple times, but it was just like they would with a new cat. It's very interesting.

I've been wondering what the difference was for a bit, too...that's what I've come up with so far.

Originally Posted by yayi

A predator's instinct to hunt and kill is always present. It doesn't show on "other" pets because the predator looks at them as part of its family. I am sure that the new rabbit/hamster/bird is not just let loose the first day it arrives and the cat/dog welcome it with kisses and pats. There's always a period for intros and stuff.

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You're completely right. I only let our Maisie bunny out when I'm home and able to supervise, even with them having SoftPaws on. It's been about a month, and they're still supervised when she's out of the cage. I don't intend to EVER be able to let her have full unsupervised run of the house with the kitties. I'm not willing to take the change. (Besides, her cage is about twenty times her body size, so it's not like she's cooped up in a tiny cage! )

But, yes, it requires a period of introduction and supervision, just like it would with other cats. I wouldn't, however, suggest allowing smaller rodents (like young rats, gerbils, or hamsters) to run around (even supervised) with cats. When I had my gerbils, they didn't lose that predator instinct. And I had a VERY sweet, VERY well-behaved cat at the time, too! But that was my experience...not the standard, necessarily.

As far as rabbits, I've read many times now that cats and rabbits get along quite famously, no matter what the size of the bunny. From what I've seen so far, it's true.