Cats playing with Bunnies?

[DwarfGirl]

My kitten likes to play with my baby bunnies. He will wrestle a little with them and chase them around in circles. I've been making him stop and locking him out of the room because I figured the bunnies wouldnt like it but, they keep going back up to him, like they are actually inviting him to play. Also, they could easily run into hiding spots but they run in circles so he is able to keep chasing, then I make him stop, then they go up to him and nudge him. Any thoughts? Are they enjoing the play?

P.S. All of this is under constant supervision.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

I would be worried the kitty might use his claws one day. Cat scratches can bedangerous, especiallyto the face.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

We do not let the bunnies and Tank play together without our supervision, Tank is declawed and he will swat at Bo but they are buddies. Hide and Seek is their favorite game and the funniest thing is when Bo suprises Tank and Tank LEAPS in the air like a binky!

 

[stargazerLily]

Mercury and Venus (the cats) play with Orion and Galaxy (the rabbits) only when I am watching them carefully. Mercury is declawed but Venus still has her claws. For the most part the cats leave the rabbits alone, but the other day Orion was playing tag with the cats.

 

[okiron]

Lol my Kayden (kitten) and Nilla (rabbit) plays tag all the time. Kayden will try to paw at Nilla to try to get him to wrestle but it never works lmao.

 

[Bunnicula]

We've got 10 cats (many still have their claws) and 3 rabbits who all coexist quiet peacefully. I have no problem allowing them all free range without direct supervision. However, it took me some time to get to that point of comfort.

None of our cats have EVER chased a bunny. In fact, quite the opposite. Just the other week Gingivere (3.5 lb Holland Lop) relentlessly ATTACKED Koko (12 lb Siamese mix). He was hiding behind a blanket and seemed to think that if he could not see the bunny, she could not see him :biggrin2:. I had to catch and subdue the rabbit so that Koko could run and hide. When I put my hands on her, she tried yet again to lunge at the blanket.

We've also got a kitty who adores Gingivere. And the feeling is quite mutual as you can see.

Like your bunnies, Gingivere will follow the cats around and chase them. It seems she just wants their companionship.

For the most part, the other 2 bunnies ignore the cats and the cats return the favor. Gingivere is just bossy to everyone...and as the first bunny we ever adopted, she has taken it upon herself to teach the cats how to respect rabbits. When they see a bunny run, they run for cover in the opposite direction!

However, we did have a disabled kitty who was quite skittish. He was easily startled and agitated. He would kiss the bunnies through their cage bars (he had no use of his rear legs and shared a room with them), but I would NEVER have left him alone with a loose bunny for fear he would behave aggressively out of fear.

My advice to you is to be especially careful as kitten claws are sharp and young cats can tend to get overly excited when they play. Personally, I would NOT allow any of my cats to wrestle with the bunnies. I've seen my cats wrestle each other...and it can be quite intense. Also, if you let the kitten wrestle with the bunnies now, he will learn this as normal behavior. It seems innocent and cute when the kitten is small. But as he grows, even well-meaning play could injure or kill a bunny who is much smaller and does not have the bone structure to handle the roughness of a wrestling match.

Be careful! I do hope that in the future all your animals can live together peacefully without you having to worry at all.

-Mary Ellen