Rabbit + Cat

[Amori]

Ok, so I just moved into an apartment with mybest friend a little over a week ago and he has a very friendly catnamed Rika and I have a rabbit named Reno. Well, I thought maybe thetwo of them would get along, so for the first few days, we let Rikasniff Reno through the cage and let them look at each other for awhileand everything seemed fine, so after a few days, I let Reno out of hiscage while Rika was in the room. Rika was very very cautious of him,but he seemed not to care at all that she was around, so we let hervisit him more and more (but I always keep an eye on the two).

Well, now there is a problem. Rika is still cautious, but very curiousof Reno and comes in the room whenever I let her. However, Reno hasstarted charging at her occasionally and kind of headbutting her. Rikausually leaps out of the way (usually up onto my bed), but keeps comingback for more. Reno doesn't seem to hurt her or anything, and hedoesn't always do it, but I don't want them to get into a fight and heseems to be charging at her more and more often. Now, Rika is declawed,so I'm more worried about her than Reno. So, I'm just wondering if Ishould keep letting the two of them get together. I'm hoping maybe Renowill prove his point and then they can get along, but I don't know ifthat is possible or not, or if I should intervene when he does chargeat her. :/

 

[nermal71]

Our old bunny Oreo and our cat Bootsie used toplay tag and chase around our kitchen and livingroom. The cat was smart enough to stayaway from those back paws of the bunny and she was declawed so shecouldn't hurt him. We did watch them though so that no onewould get hurt. They were never allowed to play unless therewas an adult there to keep an eye on them.

 

[naturestee]

Is Reno neutered? He's showing territorial aggression which can be calmed down somewhat with neutering.

Another good trick is to go through the process you'd use to bond tworabbits together. Meaning- neutral territory. Or atleast a place where Reno hasn't been before so he won't feel that hehas to defend his territory. It might take just a session ortwo or a couple weeks, but when they're comfortable with each otherthere you can move them back to the regular room. Since he'snow friends with the cat he shouldn't mind her being in his territoryas much.

Good luck! I'm working on introducing my two kittens to myrabbits. I'm taking it slow because I know one rabbit can bevery aggressive and I don't want my kittens to be hurt. Rightnow the kittens are backing down to the rabbits and are cautious aboutthem. Also, they are now trained not to use their claws whilethey play, although I still might put Soft Paws nail covers on thembefore I let them run free together.

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

Hi. Welcome to the forum.

I just wanted to note that just because the cat is declawed doesn'tmean he can't hurt the rabbit. I have heard of cases wherecats have fatally bitten a bunny. Also, how old isthe cat? Cats are predators by nature. I would justbe scared that when you aren't around, the cat might attack therabbit. I know when I was cat sitting I had this feeling thatthe only reason the cat didn't attack the rabbit was because I wasthere and he knew I wouldn't let him but if I left I felt that he wouldprobably attack the bunnies. I'm not really a cat person so Ican't say for sure but just a thought. Good luck!!

 

[naturestee]

That's a good point. Plus cat bitestend to get infected which is really dangerous in rabbits.Caution is always good.

It always depends on the cats though. My kittens are biggerthan the bunnies now but always back down to them, at least through thepen walls. Growing up I had a big, playfully agressive boycat who thought my hamsters were toys as long as I had taken themout. I couldn't let him near them. When theyescaped he'd cry until we came to see what was wrong. Once helet an escaped hamster crawl up his tail and rip fur out for hernest. All he did was cry and wait for help. I tookcare of a friend's rabbit for a little bit and he was scared of her.

And my other cat was scared of hamsters and deathly afraid of the rabbit.

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

naturestee wrote:

Once he let an escaped hamster crawl up his tailand rip fur out for her nest. All he did was cry and wait forhelp.

:shock: aww, poor cat. itskinda sweet though that he didn't hurt the hamster when he couldhave...and what a brave little hamster.

 

[Amori]

Ok, thanks for the info. To answer some of thequestions, Reno just got neutered about a week ago (I don't know ifthere is a special time when it's best to neuter them, but I don't evenknow how old he is, because my uncle found him running loose aroundsomeone's yard and gave him to me a few months ago) and Rika is around3 years old, I think. So I guess I'll continue keeping a very close eyeon them when they are together.

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

Well if he was only neutered a week ago then hestill has his hormones. It will take a few weeks tosubside. Is he the rabbit in your avatar?

 

[maherwoman]

Hi, Amori! Welcome to the forum!

I have two kitties and two bunnies, and though I haven't had theexperience of either of my girl buns going after the kitties, I willgive the recommendation of either trimming Rika's claws or putting someSoft Claws (or Soft Paws, same thing diff name) on her. Youcan check them out by the website that is each of theirnames. They're basically vinyl caps that you adhere to akitty's trimmed claws, and prevent any kind of scratching because theycreate a nice, soft buffer to the nail. They're really quiteeasy to put on (might require two people...one to hold her, while theother puts on the nail caps), too!

Keep us updated on how things go, ok?

 

[Amori]

Well, it's gotten worse since I last posted.After chasing off the cat once again, Reno just attacked me for thefirst time. Normally he hops up to me every time he sees me and likesto be petted, but this time, he chased off the cat, then went into mycloset, so I reached in to pick up his litter box and change it, but heinstantly made a growly noise at me and charged, hitting my hand withhis teeth. He actually managed to draw blood. He also nipsme sometimes when I brush him, which really confuses me, because itseems like he likes to be petted and brushed. This is the only timehe's ever drawn blood. I also feel bad for Rika, the cat, now, since itdid rather hurt when he hit me with his teeth! Did I just catch him ina bad mood or is there something else I should be doing? I think I willkeep the cat and rabbit apart for now...

 

[Michaela]

I think it's a good idea to keep them separated.I have two cats and three rabbits and have never experienced problemslike this.My cats are a bit wary ofmy rabbits andsometimesmy rabbits go over and sniffmy cats butmost of the time they just avoid each other.

 

[maherwoman]

I agree...separate them for a couple months, andmaybe try again when it's more possible that his hormones havecompletely dissapated. He may still have them in his system,and thus the reason for him being so territorial.

Keep us updated, ok?

 

[Jace]

Squirt bottle is a real handy thing to do thiswith too. I've been introducing Bud to my cat Boink who is a reallyreally affectionate cat. Boink was really afraid of Bud too for a bitand would always run off when Bud charged him or nudged him out of theway. Only trick i've read about and didn't actually see til today isthat when a cat's instincts kick in (generally outside or somethingrelated to what happens when he hunts) all that bonding is gone and hegoes into hunting mode. It gets worse when the rabbit tries to runaway. For example they could be great indoors but Boink would problystalk Bud outside. Another thing was when Bud was on the windowsillBoink would be reminded of when mice are scurrying around shelves inthe pantry and Boink started stalking Bud on the shelf (where thesquirt gun came in handy). Anyway just go slow, always watch and haveways to intervine if needed and you'll be fine.