Introducing Rabbits To Other Animals.

[minimoomin]

So my rabbit currently lives in my room, however my cats continuously try get in. I want to introduce the rabbit and cats so they can both be in the same room together. I'm not going to leave them alone in the same room, I'll always supervise them to make sure. Has anyone done this before and how did you do it?

Also I'm probably getting a Labrador puppy sometime this year, so how would I introduce the puppy to the rabbit as well? Can this be done?

Any comments would help!

 

[Blue eyes]

I don't have experience with cats, but I do with dogs.

Puppies can actually be more difficult to introduce. During puppy's teething stage, all interaction between puppy and rabbit must stop. Teething puppies will chew anything they can - including their puppy mates' ears. Of course, with a rabbit, that means he'll chew on bunny too. Those pin-sharp puppy teeth are just too dangerous for bunny. There won't be any way to stop that instinct to chew when a puppy is teething -- hence no interaction should happen.

Aside from the teething stage, there are ways to introduce a dog and a rabbit. I go into detail on how I've done this on several occasions here at my site. Personally, I prefer getting dogs from a rescue that are already potty trained. I've done the puppy thing once (when I had rabbits) and won't do it again. My other dogs have all been from rescues. But that's me. Others apparently are fine with the puppy stage. :vacuum:

 

[minimoomin]

Thank you! Yeah I want to get one from the rescue but my parents want one from a breeder.

 

[MissyAndMoonlight]

My rabbits do fine around cats. There is this one cat that frequently comes into our backyard and sits in front of the cage. They definitely see him, but completely ignore him. My one rabbit is mostly fine around dogs. A dog could be sniffing her and she wouldn't care. My other rabbit thumps and goes crazy if a dog is too close to her. As for introducing, I would hold the rabbit and cat (or just rabbit) and let them sniff each other for a while. If the cat shows any signs of aggression, stop. Do that a few times. Then, put the animals down on the floor together, if the cat isn't aggressive towards your bun, soon they should be able to interact all the time. As for the dog, Blue Eyes is right. DO NOT let them interact until the puppy is done teething and is trained.

 

[Akzholedent]

Pippi hates cats... Lol... they freak her out. (Which doesn't bother me. They freak me out too. ;-) ) However, a few months ago, I took care of the animals on the family farm, and brought Pippi with me. Our German Shepherd, who lives in the house, couldn't figure out why one rabbit was allowed to be inside, but the others weren't. She kept trying to sneak into the room Pippi was kept in, then one day I was like, "ugh, fine. Lets see what happens. I'll be here, so Dassy won't hurt her."

Dassy was so intrigued! She followed Pippi's every movement, which at first, Pippi didn't like it. One Pippi remembered she was inside her cage, though, she hopped around like normal. Dassy ended up loving Pippi like crazy, and was super bummed when I took her home.

My brother brought Dassy over to visit, and she was all normal until she saw Pippi. "MY friend!!!!" It was super cute...