Can you introduce rabbits to cats?

[Auggie+Snowball+Belle]

I feel like I’ve been posting a lot here lately. But I suppose this forum is a thing for a reason... So I have been thinking about my bunnies quality of life. They all get about 1 hour outside their cage every day. They each have a big enough cage (each is a different size since, Belle’s being huge since she is, Snowball and Rex’s smaller but big enough to fit 3 of them). I know this isn’t enough so I feel really guilty. I just don’t have the time to sit with them separately for 3 hours.

Free roam in the finished basement where the older bunnies are doesn’t work. Nobody really goes down there except for when I take care of them. Belle tries (and succeeds if you aren’t paying 100% attention) to escape her (big) area and gets to an unfinished (not bunnyproofed) part. One time when she escaped and I wasn’t down there, she jumped over Snowball’s separate and smaller fence and they got into a fight. So that’s out of the question. And Tux is in my room which is temporary until we can get him neutered and introduced to Belle. So by the time I’d get to introducing them to the bunnies, it’d be if maybe 4ish months. Just wanted to know if this was possible.

So there will be a bonded pair of rabbits (Snowball is fine on her own and
doesn’t escape so she will stay in the basement and free roam in her area) and two cats.
Goat(the cat):
Friendly to people but can be mean to new people, does chirrup at birds but once there was a mouse in the house and she was scared of it and didn’t attack it (same goes for peppermint, the other cat), lazy, doesn’t bite, just love nips, is declawed (sadly). I don’t think she’d be a problem but I’m not sure.
Peppermint (the other cat):
Scaredy cat, extremely lazy, doesn’t really chirrup at birds or anything but will watch them, doesn’t bite unless she’s playing but she’ll just nip, queen like. She probably won’t be a problem if anything she’d be scared and might hiss but that’s it. I think goat would be more of a problem if either of them were one.

A few questions for if this does work out. Would we just feed them separately, I doubt the cats would want rabbit food and vice versa so would that be necessary? What about litter boxes, I know cat litter is bad for rabbits, not sure if it’s the other way around as well? How would you introduce them, I’ve read about it but would it be the same for two bunnies and two rabbits?

Sorry that was so long lol. I just wanted to make sure that there was enough detail so that people don’t have to ask a ton of questions. Anybody think this is possible?

 

[Mariam+Theo]

Theo and my cats (which are constantly hunting) were raised together so they get along so well! I was always afraid that my cats would try to catch the wild rabbits in our yard (which are not there anymore because we have a dog) but because they were raised with Theo since they were 2 months old they think of rabbits as friends, not prey.

When I started introducing the cats (which were kittens at the time) to Theo, I was very cautious because I didn't want any animal hurt. I started out with a playpen in between them and after a while I allowed them to roam around the shed with each other. I stayed watchful so I could spray any of them with a spray bottle when they did anything wrong. Once they started grooming each other I felt good enough to leave them alone together. I knew that they had plenty of places to hide and that he has got some sharp teeth that can really hurt a cat if something went wrong.

Nowadays, the cats are outside most of the time, but every day when I feed Theo and let him play around I let the cats in the shed so they can all hang out. The cats mostly sleep while they are in there because they love all the rugs I have for Theo, but sometimes they all play together. I don't really like it when they play because that is 4 cats and a rabbit all running around the shed while I'm trying to read. Sorry, I got sidetracked.

I will sometimes feed them dinner while they are all in there, and it works great. My cats will seriously eat anything and they will not eat rabbit food, nor will Theo eat cat food. You were right, cat litter is dangerous for rabbits but rabbit litter is not dangerous for cats. What kind of litter do you use? If you use pine pellet bedding for your rabbit's litter box you can actually use that same litter for your cats! You do not want your cats going to the bathroom in your rabbit's litter box, vise versa. Put your rabbit litter box somewhere your cats won't get and put the cat's litter box someplace up high so that your rabbits can't get to it.

 

[Auggie+Snowball+Belle]

Thanks! Do you think it will be the same for older cats? The one is lazy and the other is declawed and still lazy but will chirrup at birds. Good to know that they probably won’t get into each other’s food! I do use the pine pellet litter from tractor supply so I guess that works out. How would I put the litter boxes so the cats can’t get to the rabbits and vice versa? Does spraying with water help? I’ve heard of it but never tried for the rabbits, only the cats. Thanks!

 

[Mariam+Theo]

It should be easier to bond them because older cats don't have as much energy. I would put the cat litter boxes up high on a shelf, and put the rabbit litter boxes in a room the cats don't like going in. Spraying with water works super well, so I do recommend use that method.