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Bunnies and cats being friends (lots of pics)

BevBunny

Mama Doe
Hello everyone, ages ago I asked about rabbits being friends with cats as we were thinking about getting two kittens. I got mixed responses from people - some thought we were being stupid, some had tried to do the same with mixed results. No one really seemed confident that it could be done.

We decided we'd see what we could do and if the best we ever managed was that the cats and rabbits tolerated each other then we'd be happy. We always intended to keep them apart over night, and when we were out, so it could be all the time too if necessary.

Well, we eventually found our kittens and introduced them to the buns v early on, but with a fence up. First meeting.....
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Neither the buns or the cats showed any agression or any signs of being scared, and once the kittens were a bit bigger we used to take the fence down and sit with them all.We slowly did this for longer and longer periods of time. They slowly started to interact, and now, they're friends. They sit together, share toys, use each others water bowls, sleep in each others beds/boxes and follow each other around the house. :D The cats lick the bunnies too. Heres some photos (the fence is up in some, as the buns get restricted to their part of the lounge overnight).

I'm so proud of them all, and I guess I just wanted to say that it is possible, incase anyone else is considering it. :D Although, it did take a lot of time and patience from me and my other half, but taking a v slow and steady approach worked.

All four furries having a flop.
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Lavender bunny saying hello to Buxton cat.
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Buxton cat having a lie down in the bunnies area with Darwin bunster.
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Edison cat trying to charm Lavender (who looked rather unimpressed).
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Begging for treats.
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:love::love::love:

I think getting kittens was the best idea, I plan to have a pair of kittens one day when we have a house and garden :love: that way they can learn their place and not see the buns as prey.... I must say, your photos are GORG!! :love::love::love:
 
Aww they're very cute together.

I'm surprised people advised against it. Rabbits and cats often get along great. My rabbits absolutely adore my cats. Its adorable. :lol:
 
:love::love::love::love::love:

Thank you for showing us. We have to start again with a new kitty. We want another oldie as they are much quieter.

Just shows what you can achieve with time and patience. Well done BevBunny the rewards are definitely worth it :lol:.
 
Awwww those are some of the most wonderful pics I've seen :love::love::love::love:

Our own cats love our bunnies, especially their buddy Noah :love:
 
They are all gorgeous together :) glad you went ahead. I have one cat scared of the rabbits, and one that likes to just sniff them all over!

Edison is gorgeous, looks like he has no shame, lying on his back on display! :lol:
 
Awww that's so lovely! :) I was going to post a thread asking people if they have cats and rabbits in the house, as we have a 12 year old cat who is really soft and doesn't tend to chase other animals, and we're getting 2 baby bunnies in a few days... We're really hoping they all take to each other. Any tips would be very much appreciated!! :)
 
Thanks everyone. We've been very lucky with our cats, they've got the most amazing laid back temperaments so this has obviously helped.

ripminnie - The best advice I can give is to do it very very slowly. I've had buns for 12 years or so, and they're definitely more jumpy than cats so the fact my buns were already established in the house probably helped them. I would let your baby buns settle in for a while before introducing the cat to them, and then do it with some bars in between. Actually, you might also want to wait until they're neutered. We kept the bars in place until the buns stopped hopping away from the cats when they went near the buns enclosure. We took this to mean that the buns weren't scared of the cats. We then took the fence down for just a few mins, and sat on the floor with all of them - fussing them and just keeping everyone calm. We did this every day for longer and longer periods of time, and gradually moved away from them. It tooks months, but it meant no one got stressed or hurt in any way. The one thing that I think is important is for the buns to have their own place to retreat to if they want to. So the cats have been taught not to go in the bunnies dog crate. Good luck. Just try to be patient.
 
we were lucky enough to have buns and cats living in close harmony over the years.
the closest id say were salem and his bunmum bif and bundad bertie. the buns were close with both cats...but salem really was a pseudo cat.

he passed sudenly in july and we lost bif a few weeks later...bertie and zuzu and merlin were lost....zuzus a wreck...bertie and merlin bonded together themselves as they missed salem soo much and bif too. but salem used to sleep with and wash and be washed by bertie and bif.

some cats n buns can never get on....the cats an upfront hunter esp mammals inc wild bunnies.

but buns n cats do share a similar behaviour pattern and body language..more in common than dogs..USUALLY!!:lol:
 
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