Fostering a wild kit

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Franky77

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Hi, well my cat took in a baby wild rabbit a couple minutes ago, and it's almost identical in size to my litter of meat rabbits. So I went and put it in the nesting box with them. The mother instantly sniffed it and stomped once. What are the chances she will accept it and nurse it??? Thx u
 
Really, there have been several topics about this over the last few weeks, and you don't even have to scroll down to find them.

Another thing... hasn't everyone been told from a young age LEAVE WILDLIFE ALONE.

Domestic rabbits are totally genetically different from would rabbits. Trying to "make them get along" is similar to housing a lion with a penguin and expecting the lion not to eat it.
 
The bunny will almost surely NOT be accepted back from its mother now, and is very unlikely to be welcomed by any domesticated rabbit. Most likely the wild rabbit is a cottontail rabbit, where as domesticated and house rabbits are european rabbits. There are some substantial differences.

As european and cottontail rabbits are not the same, one (or both) may harbor a pathogen that the other lacks any inherent resistance to. While arguably not all that common, if this does occur, the outcome can be devastating. Depending on your location (i.e., depending on what disease risks are in your area), returning a wild rabbit to the wild that has had prolonged contact with a domesticated rabbit can have huge risks, and may even be illegal. Probably the biggest long-term concern for the domesticated rabbit(s) is that wild rabbits can transmit parasites, and initially there may not be any indications that the domesticated rabbit is infected, and some will rapidly cause permanent damage. Dogs are also very much at risk.

As a means to reduce the chance of attracting predators, it is not uncommon for a mother rabbit to leave her young for 12+ hours, and even though bunnies are born without fur, they become independent at a very young age (hares are even more extreme in that they can pretty much care for themselves as soon as they pop out.) The only time I personally take action with wild rabbits is if I come across one that is suffering and bound for death, in which case I help it die a more dignified death than one of prolonged suffering. In most cases, that comes in the form of two well-placed .22LR shots to the head and spine, in which the first immediately severs the brainstem. Afterwards, before I play with my rabbit or dog, I'll use a scrub that has an antimicrobial just to play it safe. That's probably overkill, but IMO it's better safe than sorry. YMMV.
 
I'm sure you've heard about the story of the baby bison that had to be euthanized because some tourists decided to put it in their car. It smelled too human, so the mom did end up abandoning it. The park Rangers had to kill it because Bison in Yellowstone have this disease that spreads to other herds very quickly.

For the most part, rabbits don't act like that to their young.

I agree with ts786. If you can't find a REAL wildlife rehabber, it would be best to quit doing human damage to it.

Not only that, but holding a WILD ANIMAL in captivity is ILLEGAL.
 

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