Rabbits and Cats?

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

StormyB

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2015
Messages
112
Reaction score
9
Location
NULL
First, I know not to leave my cats alone with my bunnies, cats are predators, bunnies are prey. I won't leave them unsupervised.

But how do I start to bond rabbits with cats? Thumper already likes[or at least doesn't mind], one of my cats, Buster. They sat in a chair together for a good ten minutes, but Buster stared at Thumper as though he expected the rabbit to bite him.

My kitten, BabyCat, is infatuated with all three rabbits and Benny doesn't seem to mind him too much. I actually think BabyCat has been helping Benny escape his pen, to be honest. Its the only way I can see him getting out. The only issue is that BabyCat IS still a kitten and tends to run up to sniff my bunnies and I think that scares my rabbits. He won't ever deliberately harm them, he likes them, but I'm worried the rabbits will feel threatened, kick him, and hurt him.

Any tips?
 
Hey, bonding records and cats of actually quite easy if you find a good pair. When I first got my rabbit I tried to bond all of my cats with her they ended up chasing her around my room like a crazed maniac. My tip is to secure the rabbit or the cat in an area then let the other one get used to its smell and it being there. Do it for both of them but don't forget in a place were neither of them have taken reign. If you have any other question in willing to answer them all!😊
 
Hey, bonding records and cats of actually quite easy if you find a good pair. When I first got my rabbit I tried to bond all of my cats with her they ended up chasing her around my room like a crazed maniac. My tip is to secure the rabbit or the cat in an area then let the other one get used to its smell and it being there. Do it for both of them but don't forget in a place were neither of them have taken reign. If you have any other question in willing to answer them all!😊


That is so true. However, it's risky because the wrong cat with the wrong rabbit can be a very bad thing.

My rabbits seem to have bonded with a neighbors cat. He comes into our backyard all the time, because he loves the attention, especially from my little sister (his parents are at work all day). I've seen him right next to my rabbits cage, with their noses touching through the wire. Sometimes the cat (Camy) will just lay down next to the cage. It's really cute😊.

Just be cautions and remember that if it doesn't seem to be working (even a little bit) don't force it. If anything is wrong AT ALL just stop so no one gets hurt.
 
I don't know about cats, but I know with my dog, Ginger, I just started at very small baby steps. I would hold the bunny and let Ginger sniff him. Lucky is super chill and friendly though, so he was never scared of Ginger at all, and she is a greyhound... but Ginger is also super friendly. Even though she was an italian greyhound, I knew that -in theory- she would be much better at bonding with another animal then dogs I've had in the past. Lucky really took to Ginger. He plays with her tail, and he plays the circle, circle, circle game with her when she is sitting or laying on the floor (he loves that game and will even play it with me when i'm standing in the room. ). They also play chase- she will chase him around the room, then he will turn around and chase her around the room. I still keep a close eye on all play times because sometimes Ginger will pokey paw him (not hard, but still...).... but mostly, they just lay in bed together. When Lucky first came to our home, Ginger was a little WTF. Now she is happy to have another buddy in the house with her. Lucky and Ginger are both super friendly personalities, so the bonding seemed to go pretty fast.

Just start out small. A few mins here and a few mins there. You know your pets best, if you think one of your cats might not be a good fit with the bunny, just keep a tight eye on them if they are together. Depending on the bunny too, because some bunnies will take longer then others to bond to anyone, person or pet. Lucky walked right up to Ginger and I the first day we found him out in our garden, and he seemed to have love at first sight with us, but I've read stories about bunnies who take many months to bond with their owners or become comfortable with their house. Just make sure to give it plenty of time for everything to happen naturally.
 
The Baron visits my brother's cat Snowbell on a regular basis. Snowbell is mean (in my opinion) and is not declawed, yet she gets along very well with the Baron. She pats and grooms him and recently I went to visit when she was in heat. Baron was confused but they still got on well. Snowbell cannot visit us because my brother wants her to remain indoors at all times and it is ok since cat claws and my furniture does not mix well.

Cats don't prey on animals larger than they are in general. Cats tend to chase birds, mice, and maybe a rat. If the cat feels threatened by the presence of an animal they will fight or flee. I think one reason Snowbell doesn't feel threatened is she retains her claws. Taking away a cat's only defense is going to make it more nervous. My brother didn't have her claws removed because she is a mouser and has caught a few in his house.

Snowbell doesn't like me at all, she tends to hiss and warn me not to get close. The first time I brought the Baron over she didn't hiss but when he approached her she fled up to the top level of her cat perch and stayed there the whole visit. But she kept a watchful eye on the Baron. Baron was roughly half her weight when they met, currently the Baron now outweighs Snowbell by 1.5 pounds.

Not all animals will react the same. I recall some bad decisions made by people with their pets. It is not always good to mix species but even less when the larger animal thinks you are feeding it a furry little treat.
 
When a rabbit meets a cat, and they are not familiar with cats, they are frightened. I think a rabbit, if faced with a feral cat, might go into shock. However, from what I know, if a rabbit is familiar with a cat of about the same size, the rabbit will defend itself against the cat. Rabbits have tremendously powerful hind feet. A rabbit of equal weight with a cat can easily smash the cat's jaw with a kick....This assumes the rabbit is not afraid of the cat to begin with. When I was a boy, we had a New Zealand buck and he would attack our beagle with kicks to the face of the dog.

Our previous rabbit, Bunny, just really loved so much to go outside. She was about 8 pounds and we would not let her outside unless one of us was constantly with her. I was afraid of a feral cat attack. Our new bunnies are Flemish. They'll grow to 15 to 20+ pounds. I think we can leave them in the back yard by themselves for a few hours a day. They will be too big for feral cats. We don't have a problem with cayotes or racoons. In any event the back door (our big bunny hole) will be left open for an escape to safety.
 
I forgot all about this.

BabyCat is totally head over heels will die for her in love with my mama rabbit, Little Girl. He's taken to ignoring the others and the babies.

My other cats and rabbits ignore each other.
 
Also, if you have a male rabbit that is familiar with your cat, and the cat is about the same size or smaller than the male rabbit, the male rabbit will assume that the cat is a long tailed, short eared rabbit, and will hump it! Have seen a hilarious video on YouTube. The cat was not pleased.
 
Never keep a loose rabbit with a cat - put him in a cage with protection ( make sure your cat isn't a tiger) !!!!!!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top