Presently my bunny is living in a cage. I know you should free roam them but I have 2 cats and 1 dog and I am afraid that something might happen while I'm gone. There are also small spaces the rabbit could go that I can't reach so I wouldn't be able to get her out. Does anybody have any advice for free roaming my bunny?
Bunny habitat
- Thread starter Wenzie
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Sure. With free roaming a rabbit, there are several things to do first.
Of course litter training is going to be necessary.
Bunny proofing is also necessary. This means blocking off areas and things you don't want bunny to get to. Cords are a favorite for many rabbits to chew. This can cause injury to them (aside from destroying your stuff!). And those small spaces you mentioned need to be blocked off as well.
Dogs (at least most dogs) can be trained to get along with a rabbit. Mine have all been trained. You can see the method I use at my website on this page:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/rabbits-with-dogs.html
I know many have had luck with cats and rabbits, but they'll have to chime in as I have no experience with cats.
The other pages on my site have more info including bunny proofing and litter training.
Of course litter training is going to be necessary.
Bunny proofing is also necessary. This means blocking off areas and things you don't want bunny to get to. Cords are a favorite for many rabbits to chew. This can cause injury to them (aside from destroying your stuff!). And those small spaces you mentioned need to be blocked off as well.
Dogs (at least most dogs) can be trained to get along with a rabbit. Mine have all been trained. You can see the method I use at my website on this page:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/rabbits-with-dogs.html
I know many have had luck with cats and rabbits, but they'll have to chime in as I have no experience with cats.
The other pages on my site have more info including bunny proofing and litter training.
animalsRbetter
Active Member
I have 3 cats and a bun, we were surprised that the cats have no interest in eating the bun, they just get bothered when he gets too in their face/occasionally tries to hump them. We do not have the most well behaved bun...he also when left to his own devices will eat kitty food and kitty litter...which is why he stays upstairs while the cat space is downstairs. The bun lives in our bedroom, he's got a small animal play pen (about a 4x5 foot space) that we lock him up in at night so the cats can snuggle with us, the bun get to free roam the bedroom from 7 AM to 9PM roughly every day.
I will say my cats and bunny did have a much better relationship, but then we moved to a new apartment and the bun tried to become much more dominant of the cats...he never tried to hump the cats before we moved. I don't know what your situation is but know that things can change if you intend to move.
You can start with supervised meetings-no more than 15 minutes i'd say-with you watching your cat and being very close and ready to snatch them up if they act even the least bit predatory (watch their eyes for dialated pupils, getting low to the ground and the telltale butt wiggle indicating that they are going to pounce). If nothing like that happens then just see how it goes after a few visits, they could be friends, or they may not seem to care about one another's existence. Still I personally would never suggest leaving your cat unsupervised with the bun. While I don't think my cats would hurt the bun I still appreciate that they are predatory creatures with instincts that could kick in, or they could just rough house a little too rough. Either way it doesn't go well for the bun.
I will say my cats and bunny did have a much better relationship, but then we moved to a new apartment and the bun tried to become much more dominant of the cats...he never tried to hump the cats before we moved. I don't know what your situation is but know that things can change if you intend to move.
You can start with supervised meetings-no more than 15 minutes i'd say-with you watching your cat and being very close and ready to snatch them up if they act even the least bit predatory (watch their eyes for dialated pupils, getting low to the ground and the telltale butt wiggle indicating that they are going to pounce). If nothing like that happens then just see how it goes after a few visits, they could be friends, or they may not seem to care about one another's existence. Still I personally would never suggest leaving your cat unsupervised with the bun. While I don't think my cats would hurt the bun I still appreciate that they are predatory creatures with instincts that could kick in, or they could just rough house a little too rough. Either way it doesn't go well for the bun.
Miffythebun
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If you don’t feel safe free roaming them why don’t you try given your bun one room in the house that they can roam in that the cats and dogs are not allowed in or attach a large xpen to their cage to give the bun more room?
Miffythebun
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Also I have a cat and he is very old now but he doesn’t bat an eyelid at my rabbit and my bun doesn’t care either so it can work!
