Neighbors cat has eaten 3 of our baby bunnies

[steph2]

Our beautiful rabbit has recently given birth to 6 babies, which me children have become very attached to.  The babies are housed outside in an open hutch so mummy rabbit can get easy access to feed then.  However this morning a neighbours cat has come into our enclosed garden and taken away 3 of the babies and eaten them.  Am totally devastated and at a loss how to explain this to my children.  Any hints or advice on how to keep the cat away from the remaining babies or should I just take them indoors?

 

[steph2]

Above should have said neighbours cat!!!

 

[oneandahalfcats]

I am very sorry to read of this .. You must feel terrible. I believe there are products to deter cats in the garden but this sort of thing may also deter the mother rabbit. If it were me in this situation, I would take the babies out of there and make it so the mother rabbit and babies can be somewhere more secure. Hopefully someone with more experience with rabbits, will be along with some ideas around this. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[astroboy]

I would take them indoors to be extra sure the neighbor's cat can't get at them. Sorry for your loss.

 

[blackcat416]

I would bring the rabbits in until they are all gone. It's a cats nature to hunt and if you don't want it to happen to the mom rabbit again you should get her neutered. It's not the cats fault, it's their job to hunt and kill no matter how domesticated. Also the laws of nature as well.

 

[oneandahalfcats]

I would bring the rabbits in until they are all gone. It's a cats nature to hunt and if you don't want it to happen to the mom rabbit again you should get her neutered. It's not the cats fault, it's their job to hunt and kill no matter how domesticated. Also the laws of nature as well.

Some people raise rabbits. Maybe the poster meant for her rabbit to have babies. I don't think anyone is blaming the cat in this situation, but it is unfortunate that the cat found the babies and made off with them.

 

[steph2]

Thanks everyone.  babies are now inside with mummy who has returned.  Will keep them safe.

 

[di and bob]

I guess what I don't understand is why the rabbits are in a "open' cage? I've raised a lot of rabbits and the hutches were always completely enclosed, mainly so the rabbits couldn't get out. Are these wild rabbits? I guess my only advise would be to build a enclosed hutch, a cat couldn't get in and the rabbits would be still outside. Sorry for your loss, baby rabbits are so adorable it would be hard to lose them this way. Beware of the buck, daddy rabbit, I've lost several babies to the buck getting into the hutch which had a wire partition, they kill the babies too.

 

[steph2]

Our rabbits have the run of the garden and are not kept in an enclosed area.  The walls around are very high (about 12ft) and we have never had a problem with cats before. I guess this is a steep learning curve for us.

 

[Anne]

 
Above should have said neighbours cat!!!

I fixed the thread title for you. So sorry about the bunnies. I agree, it's a matter of keeping the bunnies fenced in with a fence that would stop cats and any other potential predators you may have in your area. The cat would probably be better off indoors and it's something you could maybe discuss with the neighbor (not sure how comfortable you would be doing that) but even if that particular cat was kept indoors, you would still need to keep the bunnies in a safer place.

My brother's family lost a pet bunny to a dog that roamed into their yard when someone forgot to close the gate...  

 

[jodiethierry64]

Hi Steph, my heart hurts for you as I have always had bunnies since I was 10 yrs old and I'm 49 now. I have a bunny now, Frankie, and he'll be 10 yrs old in Aug. I had him since he was 4 weeks. He's quite small 1 1/2 pound's. I always keep him indoors and he hops around with my felines. They know he's a family member but 9 yrs ago I rescued a pregnant stray and she attacked him. I was there to stop it. She didn't know any better. She saw my reaction and she has never attacked him since. This is what she did outside. Though I'm always there when Frankie is hopping around non of my felines hurt him but that's because they think he's one of them. I'm so sorry

 

[Willowy]

So sorry for your loss. Really anything could get baby bunnies . Even crows could fly right in. I think it's wise to keep them indoors or in a closed hutch when they're still small enough to be eaten.

 

[chasetheblue]

sorry for your loss <3. Bunnies are the sweetest. Glad you've moved the babies inside where it's safe