yramnot
Active Member
I have two male Holland lops, neutered, and about seven months old. Jack is slightly bigger at 4.5 pounds, while Peter is at 3.5. Now, I also have a cat named Kenai. He's a large male ragdoll mix weighing in at about 20 pounds. Now, one would think that my cat could easily defend himself, but that hasn't proven to be so.
When I first got my rabbits, I worried that Kenai would try to harm them because he is a very skilled hunter. We never see mice in the apartment; we only know they were there because of his horrific mouse farts the day after eating one. He proved my fears wrong when I allowed him to interact with the bunnies. He was very friendly, and delighted in playing with them. He was always exceptionally gentle with them.
Now, suddenly things have changed. After giving my rabbits free run of the house, I noticed a sudden behavior change. Kenai was terrified of my rabbits, when he used to adore them and love playing with them. He hasn't come into my room on his own in weeks because of his fear. I have to actually carry him in and put him on my bed (which is a loft bed, high above the floor where the rabbits can't reach). I didn't understand why this fear had suddenly come on, and although I understand that this was a very risky thing to do, I decided to put them together in an unfamiliar room and see how they interacted. I had to see for myself exactly what was going on between them. The room was quite large, so there was no risk of the animals feeling overcrowded. The rabbits had their own spacious side, and the cat had his own.
As always, Kenai was horrified by them. He huddled in the corner of the room, refusing to move. Now, Jack did not appear to be a problem. He seemed interested in Kenai, but never approached, went about his business playing and eating hay. Peter, however, had a very different reaction. He actively approached Kenai from across the room with ears plastered against his head (as best as a lop rabbit can do, anyway), sniffed him, and then charged at him.
The entire thing happened so fast, I didn't fully comprehend what I had seen until after the fact. This 4 pound rabbit was attacking my 20 pound cat, and bit him. Actually BIT him. I was able to break up the fight before anything serious happened, but the rabbit's intentions were quite clear. He had fully intended to harm that cat. I had seen enough, and I put the rabbits in their cage, where they are as I type. I tended Kenai's bite, and attempted to console him as best I could.
This is ridiculous, for many reasons, and I wanted to know if anyone had any constructive advice on how to handle this situation. I love my rabbits, but I love my cat also. I would not tolerate this kind of behavior if my cat were the aggressor, and I see no reason to tolerate it when the rabbit is the aggressor either. Why has Peter suddenly become so aggressive? He used to be friends with my cat. What happened?
When I first got my rabbits, I worried that Kenai would try to harm them because he is a very skilled hunter. We never see mice in the apartment; we only know they were there because of his horrific mouse farts the day after eating one. He proved my fears wrong when I allowed him to interact with the bunnies. He was very friendly, and delighted in playing with them. He was always exceptionally gentle with them.
Now, suddenly things have changed. After giving my rabbits free run of the house, I noticed a sudden behavior change. Kenai was terrified of my rabbits, when he used to adore them and love playing with them. He hasn't come into my room on his own in weeks because of his fear. I have to actually carry him in and put him on my bed (which is a loft bed, high above the floor where the rabbits can't reach). I didn't understand why this fear had suddenly come on, and although I understand that this was a very risky thing to do, I decided to put them together in an unfamiliar room and see how they interacted. I had to see for myself exactly what was going on between them. The room was quite large, so there was no risk of the animals feeling overcrowded. The rabbits had their own spacious side, and the cat had his own.
As always, Kenai was horrified by them. He huddled in the corner of the room, refusing to move. Now, Jack did not appear to be a problem. He seemed interested in Kenai, but never approached, went about his business playing and eating hay. Peter, however, had a very different reaction. He actively approached Kenai from across the room with ears plastered against his head (as best as a lop rabbit can do, anyway), sniffed him, and then charged at him.
The entire thing happened so fast, I didn't fully comprehend what I had seen until after the fact. This 4 pound rabbit was attacking my 20 pound cat, and bit him. Actually BIT him. I was able to break up the fight before anything serious happened, but the rabbit's intentions were quite clear. He had fully intended to harm that cat. I had seen enough, and I put the rabbits in their cage, where they are as I type. I tended Kenai's bite, and attempted to console him as best I could.
This is ridiculous, for many reasons, and I wanted to know if anyone had any constructive advice on how to handle this situation. I love my rabbits, but I love my cat also. I would not tolerate this kind of behavior if my cat were the aggressor, and I see no reason to tolerate it when the rabbit is the aggressor either. Why has Peter suddenly become so aggressive? He used to be friends with my cat. What happened?
I'm looking more for ways to encourage them to co-exist peacefully together again. As I said in my post, I would not tolerate this behavior if my cat were the aggressor, and I'm not going to tolerate it when it's the other way around. If I have to keep them locked up in their cage, so be it.
