eeeh my cat bit my rabbit?

Ok so during free range time in the living room with the bunnies, mr cat walks in, goes right up to big bun for no apparent reason, and gives him a nip on the neck! I pulled him away as fast as I could, but the rabbit wanted to fight the cat :lol: so I had to separate them....but the rabbit wasn't hurt, he didn't even flinch (i think his mane padded it :lol: ) I don't let them interact (cat v buns) unless someone is with them, and there's always someone in the living room. The cat has never dont this before, in fact he used to be chased by the rabbit! But now I see him eyballing the little bunny, so it's making me quite nervous! I mean, I can't keep the cat out of the living room, its called the family room for a reason :lol: The buns are in quite a large playpen, but of course they still want 'out time' so i'm in a bit of a pickle Oh, and there's nowhere else I can let them run around due to very house proud and annoyed-with-rabbits mother

You need to keep a close eye and then scold your cat severely for getting near the bun! I don't mean smacking, I mean hissing and loud voice but in no uncertain terms. Although your bunny is very capable of defending himself against a cat, there could be injuries on both sides, leading to unnecessary pain, suffering and vet bills. Let your cat know that YOU are boss and won't tolerate it.

I had this with our newest cat. The older cats learnt long ago that bunnies were out of bounds as far as playing or fighting went but the new lad, Monty, six months old, had to be taught and it has worked well. Now he eyes the bunny but then eyes me and walks away.

The cats are only allowed near Charlie if they are non-aggressive.

Of course, they are never left together unattended, just in case, but Monty has learnt that it is not acceptable to chase Charlie but he is allowed to lay with him nicely and share the warm spot!

I would be tempted to use negative associaton for interaction between these two, for instance, a noise the cat dislikes (dropping a bunch of keys on the floor?) or even a water spray? I know it sounds harsh, but you need to be so careful with prey and preditor animals.

zayna1 said:

Ok so during free range time in the living room with the bunnies, mr cat walks in, goes right up to big bun for no apparent reason, and gives him a nip on the neck! I pulled him away as fast as I could, but the rabbit wanted to fight the cat :lol: so I had to separate them....but the rabbit wasn't hurt, he didn't even flinch (i think his mane padded it :lol: ) I don't let them interact (cat v buns) unless someone is with them, and there's always someone in the living room. The cat has never dont this before, in fact he used to be chased by the rabbit! But now I see him eyballing the little bunny, so it's making me quite nervous! I mean, I can't keep the cat out of the living room, its called the family room for a reason :lol: The buns are in quite a large playpen, but of course they still want 'out time' so i'm in a bit of a pickle Oh, and there's nowhere else I can let them run around due to very house proud and annoyed-with-rabbits mother

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'Fraid I agree witht the water spray idea. We had the same issue with Selby and Dexter. Water spraying worked an absolute treat.
Now, Dexie can give Selbers a nip on the tail and Selby won't even retaliate. Dexie's nips are nothing compared to what Selby can do (Selby, 5kg cat... Dexie, 2kg Dutch) Your cat needs a bum kicking lol. Poor Dexie did end up with an eye abscess last year due to a Selby scratch so it is important.

Forbidden fruit is much more attractive to a cat and being the cunning animals they are they will get to the bun out of curiosity. Does the buns pen have a roof, so the cats can't get in? The problem is that the negative association will be associated with you, as these negative things only happen when you are there. Where are your buns kept in relation to the cat when you're out? I'm asking as if they have access to the bunny pen then they probably spend a lot of time with their paws through the bars trying to bat a bunny when you're not looking it really all depends on the cat as to the best measure to stop them being mean to your bun. Also jealousy can cause cats to resent buns and biting the bun got the cat your attention. Our cats have grown up with buns and don't bother about them at all. The one used to groom our poorly bun, now at the bridge-they'd lie curled together on my lap! When we adopted two new girls our cats toilet habits changed and they were miserable-we realised because we were closing the door and stopping the cats from interacting with the young buns-as one was tiny and timid-they felt left out. Because we've had our cats around all our animals, from four week old buns to mice and our guinea pigs, being left out really affected them. We always include them now-as any animal who lives in our house will have to get used to the cats passing by, being nosey, playing, purring and head rubbing around them. Our cats are left unsupervised with our buns at times and have never caused any harm or given a reason for concern-otherwise it wouldn't happen, and our house buns have grown up with them and treat them just like another bun. Perhaps some supervised interaction between your bun and cat may help, including rewarding your cats good behaviour with treats and not reacting to the bad. Moving the cat away from the bun and ignoring both briefly could help more than scaring the cat into leaving the bun alone. The fascination should wear off if the vibes you give off to your cat are calm and positive. Ours are house cats by the way and apart from insects have never hunted or killed anything furry

get a frenchie.....watch the cat run:lol:

please take on board advice...its all too easy for cats to inflict pain/damage/even death if they are hunters.

most cats live side by side with buns and are the best of friends and company for each other....BUT if a cat decides its going to indulge in its hunting instincts..then you could have trouble....nip it in the bud NOW. sooner better than later:wave:

If the cat has broken the skin in any way, be very careful as cat bites are filthy and a small wound can soon turn into a rather nasty abcess for the rabbit!!