Cat and House Rabbit Advice

Hello All,

I am looking for some advice on if a house rabbit and a cat will get along.

I have had my house rabbit (Bramble) for about 18months now, he is a neutered male.

I have recently been thinking about getting a cat and went to see some kittens last week. The one I am thinking about getting is a Male Bengal, he will be 13 weeks old when (if) he comes home. Does anybody have any advice on if they will get along with each other?

The rabbit lives in his cage at night and while we are at work but has the run of the house when we are home. The cat would be a house cat with the run of the house 24/7.

my mates cat and rabbit play together... im sure there wont be a problem... that cat looks amazing

They'll probably get on well. Introducing a kitten into another animals space usually makes the kitten accept friendships. However moving a cat in, or getting another animal after the cat will more than likely result in some conflict.

But it all depends on both animals personalities really.

I have 3 house rabbits and got a kitten about 5 months ago. My rabbits have a bedroom they stay in when im out or at night but when im home i open the door so they can come downstairs if they wish too. My kitten sleeps in the dining room at night and goes outside when he wants to as well during the day. my lot all get on ok. Sometimes my kitten will chase a bunny but only if they suddenly run away from him, otherwise he just sits with them, often sleeps in their room when im home. He has never hurt any of them and they dont seem to bothered by him either. As said i think introducing a kitten is alot easier. When you say your kitten will have free roam of the house 24/7 will there be a room your bunny will be in that will be out of bounds? or maybe can be for a while so he doesnt attach bunny through the bars when bunny cant run away?

We got all our cats as kittens so they learnt to respect the rabbits because they were bigger.

They are not exactly best mates but they tolerate each other and will sit side by side quite happily. The cats do not chase or hurt the rabbits in any way and vice versa.

:wave:

My 7 year old cat is great with one of my bunnies but just ignores the others so they dont bother trying to interact with her anymore :lol: She does get on really well with Buu though Smirnoff was 4 when I brought baby Buu home and she used to sleep in the cat bed with Smirnoff and they would just follow each other about :lol: If Buu gets too playful and Smirnoff has had enough she just jumps up somewhere Buu cant get to her! I dont think Smirnoff would ever hurt any of the bunnies, if they are ignoring her she just moves away from them :lol:

We have a kitten too, and the rabbits have had enough of him already :shock::lol::lol::lol:

What are bengal's like with chasing prey?

Have you got a back up plan if they don't get on?

Our cats grown up with animals around but I wouldn't trust her. Scamp has no fear and she took a swip at him today when he broke out and ran into her area (luckily she's getting on and is too slow and he's to quick).

A cat can kill a bunny though and a rabbit can do damage to a cat.

It's a difficult one because it can all go fine and they get on great but equally you could end up with two animals that have to be permanently apart.

Tam

Eeeek, be careful with a Bengal :shock:

I've never heard of anybody having one with a house rabbit, but I've heard about them attacking other cats in the household.

I think theres a lady on www.dogpages.org.uk who does Bengal rescue...might be best to ask on there, or on a cat forum.

Remember that some breeds of cat have stronger hunting instinct than others.

Amy

I would be very cautious about having a Bengal cat with a rabbit. I just did a bit of research to freshen my memory. They are bred from crossing a Leopard Cat with a domestic cat over something like 5 generations right? So it is likely that they are going to have quite strong prey intsincts, so wouldn't really be suitable to have with a house rabbit. :?

You'd need to be in the same room as them whenever your there and make sure the cage is cat proof (though you probably already know that). Have you had cats before? I only ask because I've read that Bengal cats are only suitable to be kept by very experienced pet owners. :?

If it wasn't a bengal you were going to get then I'd say you wouldn't have much too worry about. I had my adult cat before I had a house rabbit and they got on really well. However, I believe bengals grow larger and retain much wilder instincts so I don't think they could be trusted.

If you decide to get a cat then I'd get an adult docile rescue cat, I actually think kittens are more of a danger as they are more playful. Clearly it depends on their personalities though.

Problem is with an adult you never know what they used to do before you got them. You may have a cat that used to chase wild rabbits in the local fields but be none the wiser until you get your new cat home.

I found with our kittens they ran away from the rabbits until they were a similar size and by then it was already instinct for them to stay away from the rabbit.

Hi,

We have 13 rabbits and 5 cats. 2 of the buns live as house rabbits and the rest in the "rabbit hotel" with attached run in the garden. All of the buns have free run of the house and garden when we are at home.

We have never had any problems with our lot considering the rabbits. Our cats would probably not agree tho as some of them have been chased by the rabbits! :lol:

The danger I can think of is if the kitten lash out with the paw if he finds the bun is too nosey which can scratch an eye. Apart from that, they tend to respect each other.

Tempest said:

I would be very cautious about having a Bengal cat with a rabbit. I just did a bit of research to freshen my memory. They are bred from crossing a Leopard Cat with a domestic cat over something like 5 generations right? So it is likely that they are going to have quite strong prey intsincts, so wouldn't really be suitable to have with a house rabbit. :?

You'd need to be in the same room as them whenever your there and make sure the cage is cat proof (though you probably already know that). Have you had cats before? I only ask because I've read that Bengal cats are only suitable to be kept by very experienced pet owners. :?

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I have done my research on the breed (about 5 years of reading but not actually taking the plunge) and they are no different from a normal domesticated cat. They are originally bread from the Asian leapord cat (which is about half the size of a domestic) and are only considered to be a bengal cat after 5 generations of breeding but these cats are extremely far removed from their wild ancestors which were bread in the 1970's. The Bengal breeder even commented that she had just sold the kittens brother to another house rabbit home. I grew up with Cats but have not lived with one for about 7 years now. I have never heard that Bengals are only suitable for experienced cat owners.

Tamsin said:

What are bengal's like with chasing prey?

Have you got a back up plan if they don't get on?

Our cats grown up with animals around but I wouldn't trust her. Scamp has no fear and she took a swip at him today when he broke out and ran into her area (luckily she's getting on and is too slow and he's to quick).

A cat can kill a bunny though and a rabbit can do damage to a cat.

It's a difficult one because it can all go fine and they get on great but equally you could end up with two animals that have to be permanently apart.

Tam

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If it all went wrong and the rabbit and cat didn't get along the back up plan would be to extend the rabbits cage and leave him locked away a bit more than he is now (he doesn't often leave the kitchen anyways) I would probably leave him out through the night to make sure he was getting enough exercise and make sure he still got attention from us by locking the cat out of the kitchen for 30mins a day.

Bengals are hard work.

My two cats attack my rabbits if they are together so I would think carefully about how you plan to house all the animals. Cats are natural hunters and rabbits are natural prey - recipe for disaster IMO.

Some people are lucky with laid back cats but I know Bengals are quite highly strung.

fluffiebunnie said:

Bengals are hard work.

My two cats attack my rabbits if they are together so I would think carefully about how you plan to house all the animals. Cats are natural hunters and rabbits are natural prey - recipe for disaster IMO.

Some people are lucky with laid back cats but I know Bengals are quite highly strung.

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Yeah, I think it sounds like it is a bit hit and miss, some people say that they get on fine and some don't.

I found this really good link about cat's and rabbits getting along and how to integrate them but it is still worrying me.

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-11/cats-and-rabbits.html

I have considered waiting until poor Bramble passes on but this is likely to be about 6 - 8 years so I am thinking he is going to have to put up with another pet at some point and it might be best to get it out of the way now while he is young and they can have fun together (hopefully).

Bengals are very playful and inquisitive and I expect he will want to play alot with your bun, if your bun is a brave feisty bun I don't see a problem as he will put the kitten in his place, however, if your bun is quite meek and nervous I wouldn't get any type of kitten full stop.
I would go for an adult rescue whose personality has already been established.
Ive had rabbits and cats (4 at any one time has been average) living together with no problems and Ive had many ferals living with the buns too aswell as kittens ive handreared. Its the kittens that push the boundaries, the adults in general will steer clear of the buns although my current cat Missy will stalk them in the garden but thats as far as it goes as she knows she will be lunged at (although that started when we first got her at 5 mths old and now the rabbits nudge her if she is lying on the lawn and they play a game of cat and mouse taking it in turns to find each other and run away without actually touching eachother except when the rabbits want to move her out the way!)

Bramble said:

Yeah, I think it sounds like it is a bit hit and miss, some people say that they get on fine and some don't.

I found this really good link about cat's and rabbits getting along and how to integrate them but it is still worrying me.

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-11/cats-and-rabbits.html

I have considered waiting until poor Bramble passes on but this is likely to be about 6 - 8 years so I am thinking he is going to have to put up with another pet at some point and it might be best to get it out of the way now while he is young and they can have fun together (hopefully).

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I would go to a rescue and get an adult cat The rescue will be able to tell you the personalities of the cats and they should already have an idea of which animals can live with other animals x

Bramble said:

I have done my research on the breed (about 5 years of reading but not actually taking the plunge) and they are no different from a normal domesticated cat. They are originally bread from the Asian leapord cat (which is about half the size of a domestic) and are only considered to be a bengal cat after 5 generations of breeding but these cats are extremely far removed from their wild ancestors which were bread in the 1970's. The Bengal breeder even commented that she had just sold the kittens brother to another house rabbit home. I grew up with Cats but have not lived with one for about 7 years now. I have never heard that Bengals are only suitable for experienced cat owners.

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I suppose it depends on what you've read, I'll try to find the website that stated Bengal cats are only suitable for experienced cat owners and edit this post accordingly. Oh and an Asian Leopard cat is from about 7 to 15 pounds, about the same size as a normal domestic cat. Again I suppose it depends on what you've read and where.

I hope you didn't take my post as me saying I know more than you, I was only relaying the information I'd found, I've researched bengal cats before myself, but that wasn't recently which was why I needed to look them up again.

I would go for either kittens who you know the parents arent prolific hunters and they havent been given live prey by mum! However if you find a very nervous but people loving adult cat who doesnt like being outside much or loud noises etc then id say yes...thats the cat my beloved bumble was bless her.

we took on two kits to rehome at least one of..but ended up having the male returned and we then went to rehome both and have kept them ever since

when we first had them they were so tiny the tiniest kits id seen for their age...and were way weeny compared to bif our lady bun. Infact they oftne tried to nuzle under her tummy. She took over and litter trained the boy who used to panic and pee on his tail. he followed her everywhere.
the femalekitty fell in love with out frenchie bertie...and followed him everywhere. Oddly both buns didnt worry too much they seemed to appreciate they were babies and were very patient. until the games got too much then they told the kitteis off! its odd to see how much bigger the kits are now over a year later and that the boy still adores his bunny " parents"
zuzu kitty gets rambunctious and bandit is something she has chased but i then realised he was part of the game with wilow..her n the kitties think theyre the sam species..long story.
HOWEVER once all bonded i will be putting all buns in the playpen more for the buns peace and quiet from cats playing wilderbesst of the serengeti at 2am round the house! But also for bandits sake in case he gets panicky and zuzu gets caried away.
My old cats were very diluted burmese and i was lucky they were so nice at 7yrs old to accept and grow to love kibbles although they never had a cuddly relationship like thse two mogs have with our four hpuse buns.
bengals are very skitty and excitable so a friend of minessister has said..so be aware any cat even can be a problem..