Should I free roam or is too risky (cats)?

[Cati]

Looking for some expert opinions on this, I'm kind of worried I'm doing something wrong or being too trusting of my cats.

My rabbit, Rune, is about seven months old now. When I got him, my original plan was to start him off in his cage (4 by 6 ft with two additional partial levels he could jump on) and eventually allow him to free roam the bedroom he was in. This seemed to be the most logical and safest option because of my cats.

However, what I did not expect was how well Rune and my cats get along. I should mention, I have a ludicrous number of cats -- 10 of them, all fixed, indoor-only, all over 6 years old and pretty chill. Anyway, it's not that the rabbit and cats are close friends or anything, they actually ignore each other -- not a single cat has any interest in the rabbit. They've all have plenty of time to interact with him and they just don't care; no fighting, no playing, no grooming. They will share space with each other, sitting and lying next to each other, but honestly, my cats are more interested in hanging out in the rabbit cage when it's open (which Rune does not care about) than Rune himself.

Since introductions went so well, I ended up letting Rune out of the bedroom and let him freely explore the second floor and attic of my house, free roaming all day while I'm at home on weekends (14+ hours three days a week) and just to verify it's not a supervision thing, I have also let him free while I'm napping or taking shorter (1-2 hour) trips out of the house. It's been three months so far and there have been zero cat incidents.

I should also mention that Rune is decently-sized -- currently about 10 lbs, but he could get bigger since he's part Flemish Giant. Bigger than a couple of the cats, actually.

So two questions --

1. Would it be safe to let Rune free-roam with the cats, or would it still be too risky? I think Rune would be happier if I didn't confine him to a cage when I'm not around, and based on their behavior the whole time, I honestly don't believe the cats are an issue, as insane as the situation sounds considering the number of cats. When I used to bring in foster cats my cats handled it well, and with Rune, they've never made an aggressive move at all. And so far, Rune has yet to do anything to challenge them either. I do recognize that any bites or scratches from a cat, no matter how minor, is a vet emergency and I do have an emergency vet lined up for that and another other emergency situation.

2. Even if the cat situation is somehow fine, is it too early to consider free roaming? Like I said, he's seven months. Do I need to give it more time to see if anything changes? Would he be settled in his personality yet, or is there a chance he could get territorial and start taunting the cats, for example? My cats are all pretty set and predictable in their behavior, but I don't know how much Rune will change as he ages. Or, is seven months too early to consider free roaming in general, even without the cat variable?

I'm also interested in hearing how other people's rabbits get along with their other pets and what experiences you guys have had.

Thanks all.

 

[JBun]

I know there are some people that have cats and rabbits that live together without any problems, just as there are some that have had horrible accidents with their rabbit being allowed to live with their cat. I didn't ever have my rabbits and cat together, but my sister did for all the 10 years of her rabbits life, without the cat ever harming her free roam rabbit. Though I think her rabbit did contract toxoplasmosis from the cat at some point, but was successfully treated for it.

I think that with your rabbit being a large breed and about the same size or bigger than your cats, that is certainly something that would affect how they view him, as less a prey animal and more on equal ground. If he was a small breed, I think there would be much more of a risk.

Really this is something only you can evaluate and decide. Based on how you describe your cats behavior together with him, and him being a big rabbit, there seems to be a chance it could work out for them to be free roam together. But if you decide to try it, go into it understanding that there is always a possible risk involved. You just have to determine how likely a risk it is based on your knowledge and understanding of your cats and your rabbit.

 

[Moonshadow]

With my first bunny Bandit (dwarf hotot mix 1.5-2lbs), we had only one cat when we got him at about a year old. Our cat Buddy (around 6-7) had no interest in hunting animals (although she did make an exception in hunting crickets and praying mantises). She had a purely respectful and cordial relationship with Bandit. If they were passing each other in the hallway, the cat and bun would look at each other, sometimes touch noses, then carry on down their own paths doing whatever they were originally doing.

We got our second (and current cat) Nikko when Bandit was 3-4. She was around 7-8months old at the time. (My uncle found her in NYC in a park in a thunderstorm a month or two earlier. He couldn't keep her because he was allergic to cats). Nikko was young and very curious about Bandit. We carefully watched her as she pawed at him and he (being a confident little bun) snorted back and did warning lunges if she went too far (we also intervened if she seemed to get to rowdy). In the end, they became friends. They'd chase each other across the room, cat would chase first, then it reversed and Bandit chased her. Then they'd lie in sunbeams a few feet from each other or the cat would sleep above in a chair and the bunny would sleep on the carpet right beneath the chair. (We have photos and I'll post if I find them)

Buddy and Bandit have passed away. When we got Min-Min (Netherland dwarf in profile photo) last year, we still had Nikko though she's now 17-18years old. Our bun wants to play with her but unfortunately at this point she's too old to want to deal with his youthful energy. He runs and jumps in front of her to try to get her to react but she just goes into the back (where he can't get to her) to sleep. When she inevitably passes in a year or two, we may look into getting another cat~