A quick question on cat smell and rabbits

[Teepee]

Hi all!:wave:

As I said in a previous post I have bought a cage for my rabbits and (though new) thought I'd give it a wash-out "just in case".

I left my cage in the garden with (daft as I am!) the doors open as I thought I would give it a good "air" before the arrival of rabbits in a few weeks time.

ANYWAY, I am currently "cat-sitting" my sister's cat while she is away and GUESS who I found using said hutch as a comfy snoozing place a moment ago!:(

I am just thinking to myself that cats scent places and I would not be at all surprised if she rubbed her little cat cheeks all over the interior prior to me finding her. I intend re-washing it now as I would suppose rabbit sense of smell is very good and I don't want them to smell "predator" in their new home even though it will be a few weeks before they arrive...

Will pet-friendly disinfectant do the trick or ought I try vinegar or something that smells stronger? She is a spayed female so does not scent as an uncastrated male would - still, my nose isn't as good as a rabbit's so goodness only knows how strongly it now smells of cat to them!!:?

Thanks for any suggestions,

TP;)

[buda]

Well, we have had bunnies and cats living together with no problems (once the bonding process was over). I guess the question would be if the new bunnies are used to cat smells. If they have been attacked by a cat before, they will be stressed by cat scent, but if they come from a pet store or have been living in a house with a cat, they might be fine.

My bunny Tofu met a neighbor's dog a little while ago and there were no hard feelings. It happens!

[Teepee]

No, I don't believe that they are used to cats and as they will be very young a cat would be quite large in comparison.
I only used water to clean out the cage initially as it was unused but planned on buying an animal friendly disinfectant to clean them out once here...I was debating white vinegar as I read on here some use that to clean "wee stains" and I would imagine that would get rid of any smell (I would think it STINKS!:lol:)
The disinfectant may very well do the trick too - but I don't want to "mask" the smell if you see what I mean?
Thanks for your reply.
TP;)