Cats and Bunnies?

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sesheta

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Does anyone here have cats and rabbits? Can they get along together or is it too dangerous what with the prey/predator instincts?

I am thinking about adopting Elliot, an adorable bunny from the SPCA (he's in foster care right now).

Here is the link to his picture on Petfinder, the english description is at the bottom of the page:
http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/...?petid=6656970

I'm totally in love, but I'm worried my cats might pose a danger if I bring him home!

Thoughts?
 
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I don't know - but have a look in 'Cats and Other Animals' - you'll probably find some threads on it in there.
 
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sesheta

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Ah cool! thanks, I'll take a peek... there are so many threads I never know which one to look in
 
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yorda

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What a cute bunny!


I have had a few rabbits with my cats in the past few years with generally positive results- although it wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t without its challenges at times.

Most of the rabbits Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve owned have been on the larger size and I found my cats got along quite well with them and didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t bother them much. The reaction my cats had varied from grooming them to ignoring them to be terrified of them. I think because the rabbits were so close to their own size they didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t view them as prey. I ended up adopting a New Zealand White about 4 years ago as a companion for a cat of mine that couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be with other cats because her aggression issues- but she loved having the bunny around and would sit in the pen with her.

About two years ago I adopted a dwarf mix as a companion for my bigger bunny, and we encountered some problems. Perhaps because of her small size and fearful nature they did see her as prey and would attempt to chase her or bat at her. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve known people who did have smaller bunnies that loved playing with cats, so I think her lack of confidence in general made things worse. I have been working on slowly reintroducing her to the cats again and she has become very comfortable around them, and in return they have learned not to chase her.

Here is a good article from the House Rabbit Society on cats and rabbits: http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-11/c...d-rabbits.html
 
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naturestee

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Hi! I'm owned by four small rabbits and I recently adopted two kittens. I've been introducing them slowly, with the kittens either in a carrier or held on my lap. So far the rabbits are shy but curious and the kittens are a bit intimidated. There's been a few times where a kitten will dash out of their room while the bunnies are out, and all either of them does is go to where they can see a rabbit and then lie down in a submissive pose and watch them curiously. I've had to stop the introductions sessions because one kitten is having problems with ear mites and a URI, but I'll continue once she's healthy. We're planning on having the kittens in harnesses before letting them run free with the buns.

I asked a lot of questions and did a lot of research before I committed to adopting the kittens. I'm on a rabbit forum, and lots of people there have cats too. Many times they get along well with the rabbits, even if the rabbit is tiny, although it's not unusual for a rabbit to boss around or even attack a cat.

Oh, and look into Soft Paws/Soft Claws! Rabbits are prone to nasty, hard-to-treat abscesses. Claw caps will prevent accidental or playfull swats from actually hurting the rabbit.

And thanks so much for looking into adopting a rabbit! The backyard breeder situation is even worse for rabbits than cats, and even most "good" show breeders have care standards far lower than a good cat or dog breeder. Meanwhile, shelter buns get euthanized...
 
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marie-p

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Hey, another Montrealer... Hi!


I used to have a rabbit until about a year and a half ago. When I first got her, I was living in a house where there were cats, but I was in the basement and the cats didn't come into the basement very often. When they did come, Maggie (the bunny) was scared of them at first, but then started to ignore them. But mostly they were separate.

Anyways, it didn't take long for me to realize that Maggie would NOT live in a cage (and she had a big cage too). She absolutely refused to. So I had to set up a room just for her (luckily we had a storage room). She was litter trained and her cage was turned into a house put in the corner of the room.
(Yes, rabbits can be surprisingly tempermental
)

About a year later, I was living on my own and Maggie had free range of the kitchen. Then I got my own cat, Joshua who ended up having a lot of contact with Maggie (hard to avoid with a free-range rabbit). At first, Maggie was scared and I introduced them progressively. But after a while, she wasn't scared anymore and Joshua would either ignore her or sometimes groom her a little (which she liked).

So yes, cats and rabbits can cohabitate fairly peacefully. Ideally, you should only allow them to interact when they are closely supervised, but in my case, I didn't have much choice and luckily everything was fine.
Be aware though, that rabbits can die from fright. If they are scared for too long, they can have a heart attack and die. So unless you know that the rabbit isn't scared of the cat anymore, keep the cage out of reach of the cat when you're not around to supervise.
 
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sesheta

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Originally Posted by marie-p

Hey, another Montrealer... Hi!


I used to have a rabbit until about a year and a half ago. When I first got her, I was living in a house where there were cats, but I was in the basement and the cats didn't come into the basement very often. When they did come, Maggie (the bunny) was scared of them at first, but then started to ignore them. But mostly they were separate.

Anyways, it didn't take long for me to realize that Maggie would NOT live in a cage (and she had a big cage too). She absolutely refused to. So I had to set up a room just for her (luckily we had a storage room). She was litter trained and her cage was turned into a house put in the corner of the room.
(Yes, rabbits can be surprisingly tempermental
)

About a year later, I was living on my own and Maggie had free range of the kitchen. Then I got my own cat, Joshua who ended up having a lot of contact with Maggie (hard to avoid with a free-range rabbit). At first, Maggie was scared and I introduced them progressively. But after a while, she wasn't scared anymore and Joshua would either ignore her or sometimes groom her a little (which she liked).

So yes, cats and rabbits can cohabitate fairly peacefully. Ideally, you should only allow them to interact when they are closely supervised, but in my case, I didn't have much choice and luckily everything was fine.
Be aware though, that rabbits can die from fright. If they are scared for too long, they can have a heart attack and die. So unless you know that the rabbit isn't scared of the cat anymore, keep the cage out of reach of the cat when you're not around to supervise.
Click to expand...
Hello there fellow MontrÃ[emoji]169[/emoji]aler!

Thanks for the info, I'm trying to read up as much as I can before I make the final move to adopt the rabbit. I'm pretty excited about it though! I actually have thought about having one room in the apartment be a "bunny room" since my roommate and I live in a large 6 1/2 and there are only two of us. We have an extra bedroom.

I'll take all that into consideration, again, muchly appreciated!
 
lauracatlover

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it shouldn't be a problem to have a rabbit while you have cats.
I have a rabbit and a cat, and to tell you the truth tabitha is more scared of the bunny!!

unless your cats are like super vicious (which Tab obviously isn't lol) this shouldn't be a problem at all!
 
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goldenkitty45

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Before we moved - when I had more then one rex in the house, my son got a cute little "rex" rabbit. He kept the rabbit in his room. I wanted to introduce the rabbit and cats. So I took my most friendly, calm rex (Spooky) first. We let the rabbit out of the cage and let Spooky loose.

Well that rabbit charged the cat and chased him out of the room. Spooky would NOT come in the room again with the rabbit loose.....and he must have told the rest of the cats about the "killer" rabbit, cause none of them would go near her....



If your cat has never hunted outside and killed mice, birds, or rabbits, you should be ok. Just do not let them together unless supervised.
 
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