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Howeverhard

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Hi I have a 4yr old albino bunny.She has lived in an outdoor hutch for all that time but now I am thinking if I should bring her indoors.

We have a really nice garden which she likes but because there are stray cats in our neighborhood I have to supervise her,so she only gets 1hr 30m or 2hrs on some days of play time /together time .

I could bring her indoors but then she won't have access to the garden.We also have 3 cats inside so that might be a problem. If I bring her in then she won't get the space but I can be with her for multiple hours. Is all the stress of moving worth it ?
 
Last edited:
Do you have an extra room?
 
Probably should not move him then, with three cats.... no. He could be in your bedroom?!
 
It depends on your rabbit, and also what your cats are like, and if your rabbit will have a safe space to be in when you can't supervise the interaction with your cats. If your rabbit enjoys being inside with you, and you have a safe space for your rabbit when you can't supervise your cats safely being around her; and/or she enjoys being inside, and she and your cats decide they like each other and your cats show no signs of aggression or wanting to go after your rabbit(though I would still only let them be around each other when you can be there to strictly supervise, or otherwise keep your rabbit in a safe indoor space or cage, then it may work to have your rabbit indoors.

Though do be aware that cats can pose some risk of spreading infection to your rabbit, through a simple scratch or through their feces, and these infections most often prove fatal. So your cats can never be allowed to paw at your rabbit, or play using their mouth. Also the cats litter box needs to be somewhere inaccessible to your rabbit. Your rabbit will need her own litter box that the cats won't try and use. So though it can be possible for cats and rabbits to coexist in the house together, and may even decide they like living with each other, some precautions do have to be taken to properly introduce them to minimize injuries occurring, and to prevent them spreading illness to one another.

https://rabbit.org/cats-and-rabbits-2/
https://www.rabbitcaretips.com/do-rabbits-and-cats-get-along-together/
However, if your rabbit seems happier bieng outdoors and too stressed being indoors, since she has always lived outdoors, then I would leave her where she is outside, keep her safe out there from the outside cats, and spend time with her when possible. Another option might be to let her remain living outdoors if she's happiest there, but if she does also like coming inside, you could bring her in to spend time with you there as well. Which ever space she will be happiest in and also safe at the same time, that's how I would decide whether to keep her outdoors or brring her indoors to be a house rabbit.

If you do decide to try her indoors, be sure to do some bunny proofing of your home first. Depending on the rabbit, some will chew through wires, furniture, walls, floors, if given the chance, so everything needs to be made safe first. Once everything is bunny proofed, then the next step is setting up a safe pen or cage for your rabbits 'home base' area. You start your rabbit in this space before allowing to gradually start to free roam. You need to make sure your rabbit understands this home base is her area to be safe and also to use her litter box, before you start allowing supervised free roam, so she doesn't start thinking she can just pee in the rest of your home. If you read the links below, it goes through how to litter train, then how to gradually start allowing a rabbit to free roam.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/litter-training.html
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/free-roaming-how-to.html
These are links on bunny proofing your home.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bunny-proofing.html
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bunny-proofing
https://bunnyproof.com/
 
THANKYOU guys,through all your advise I think I am not going to bring her inside.All this seems hard and risky and my bunny is old so I don't want to cause her stress ,and it also might not work with the cats after all,and she is happy outdoors. thankyou for your advice though :)
 

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