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Rabbits + Cats: your experiences and opinions please

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NexivRed

Young Bun
Hi everyone.

On the advice of veteran forum members, I'm making this thread to ask you for your experiences on keeping cats and rabbits together, particularly house rabbits and house/cattery cats, (basically cats that can't come and go outside as they please).

Any experiences or tips or warnings would be greatly appreciated to help my partner and I come to our decision over whether a rabbit would be a good addition to the family, and if so what would be the best way to introduce the bunny and keep everyone involved happy, healthy and safe.


Look forward to reading your replies :)
 
I have 8 cats 2 being kittens and 7 rabbits, 2 indoors and 5 out but they all mix with each other (cats and rabbits not rabbits and rabbits yet lol) and get on fine!

They will often groome each other or chase and play with each other!

As for introducing sometimes its just best to let them get on with it, and see what happens! But my cats have been around rabbits since day 1 so are very used to them x
 
You'll get a very mixed review on this i'm afraid.

I personally don't think it should occur, because rabbits are prey animals and cats are predators.

Cats carry a massive amount of bacteria in their saliva and claws and a single tiny cut could be enough to kill a rabbit or make it extremely ill.

A cat playing could easily kill a rabbit.

That said, several people have cats and rabbits interacting, but i'd never allow it un-supervised and even then, at risk of something nasty happening.
 
My cat Phoebe and my bunny Barney were inseperable, I mean proper best friends, they did everything together, when Phoebe would go next door Barney would wait for her to come back. They even used to "ahem" I am not kidding. I never knew a friendship like it. It all depends on the cat though not all are going to be friendly with buns. I thinkI was just incredibly lucky.

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I've got eleven bunnies - five indoor and six outdoor - and eight cats. They all get on fine and are allowed together unsupervised. I accidentally shut one of my cats in a hutch with a bunny overnight (I was doped out on pain relief following a visit to A & E) and both were OK in the morning - although the cat was understandably VERY cross with me!

I have a smallish house and work two jobs so I couldn't supervise the cats and buns all the time but I have been lucky and have never had a problem. I do ensure the indoor buns have somewhere they can escape if they want to escape Pippa (my youngest cat) playing with them.

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I have 2 rabbits and 2 cats. One of my cats is allowed to mix with the rabbits, one isn't. I don't think she would try and hurt them, but she's got issues and if she went for one and accidently had their claws out it could cause more problems that is worth the risk.

My other cat is so soft that no matter what I do, he won't attack me, so I'm 100% confident that he would not hurt the rabbits, not even accidently. Even so, I still supervise though.
 
They shouldn't be allowed to mix. Cats have sharp claws and sharp teeth even when they are playing.
 
We have always had cats, our first lot of bunnies were large bunnies and bigger than the cats. They all used to share the rug in winter, 1 of the 5 cats we had at the time prefered to go out and use the bunny litter tray than dig a hole in the garden! Luckily we muck out daily!

Now we have 2 bunnies 2kilo each and 3 cats. The cats understand fully that the rabbits are in charge. Our new bunny met the cats on Friday after being in our garden only 5mins, the cats wanted to see who he was. Bit of sniffing each other then the cat was chased by Ozzy, the cat shot! Rabbit one, cats nil.

I wouldnt get a small bunny a I think it may look too much like lunch. You will get mixed views on this, but in my experience we have had no probs.
 
Cool, thanks for the replies so far! Yeah, was expecting a mixed review.

Is the idea behind never even trying to mix cats and rabbits something to do with primal senses or smell or something? What I mean is, do you believe the rabbit will always feel slight terror, and the cat will always feel the urge to chase and kill? No matter how well they may or do end up getting on?

I should mention we're only contemplating a rabbit that can match my cats' sizes and weight. I'm not looking to mix smaller, more vulnerable rabbits.
 
If I believed George and Gemma felt even the slightest terror I wouldn't let the cats interact with them but I honestly don't think they are bothered. When someone new comes into the house they hide in their crate initially and then gradually come out and meet them. They don't run away from the cats, however, they just accept them, much as they accept me. Sometimes they are happy to be near me and be stroked and at others they hop away.

They do have a small area the cats can't get to and very occasionally one or other of them will go there, but not often.

The cats share their water dish and two of them eat the rabbit food (not something I encourage at all). Pippa will even nom some hay - but she thinks she is a rabbit, not a cat.

I fully accept that not all cats and all rabbits can co-exist happily but mine do. I believe inter-species friendships can be deep and bonding. My younger cats do hunt but they know the bunnies are 'family' and never try to hurt them. They play with their claws in (with eight cats I had to teach them all that from a young age or I would have ended up looking like a pin cushion!)

I do, however, keep the cats completely separate from Suki, my dwarf hamster. They would regard him as a tasty snack:cry:
 
I must add, that although my above post was quite factual, i have an additional dislike of cats, as i had one come in and try to attack my rabbits. If Biscuit hadn't of stood his ground and gone for the cat, i think i could of suffered some injuries to one or both bunnies.

Coming from the softest, most laid back rabbit in the world (except litter trays), that shows he knew instinctively that something was NOT right and he stood up for himself and his bonded partner.

Some Rabbits have a fight or flight instinct, i guess i got to see which one Biccy was prepared to show.
 
when I let grayson out with the kittens they just all get on! kittens do their thing Grayson does his! they sniff each other but are not overly botherd! BUT ive had grayson since day 1 so he has been around cats forever! when he was 4 weeks and he had to live on his own, he would snuggle on the bed with one for my cats for warmth

but all my rabbits and cats get one! they mix in the garden etc! only the other day Smatie rabbit was running around the tramploene chasing and binkying with the kittens

this is Sox and Albert :love: after they groomed each other!

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my cat is petrified of the rabbits .

he will not go into a room with rabbits in -

some of my original house rabbits used to chase him (and a couple of them used to nip him) and now he is very wary of all of them.

NONE of the neighbours cats come into my garden - and this is a very catty neighburhood (about 8 on our very small bit of street).

PS however thinking about it he is a very nervy cat I guess as he is frightened of the bantams as well :oops: though he does catch small woodmice occassionally and bring them in live
 
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If rabbits and cats were meant to "live together" they would surely be found together in the wild.

Anyone that DOES have rabbits mixing with cats is just flipping lucky that nothing has gone wrong!

Cats play with claws and teeth, it's their way of training, like they would in the wild. (I am very surprised to read that one of you has trained ALL your cats otherwise, a pure miracle!)

You all seem to respect Ann McBride very much, but ignore the fact that she reports repeatedly that a "binky" is simply a bunny practising their escape route from predators. I once thought it meant a happy rabbit too, but Ann McBride strictly says it's a self defence move that bunnies practice throughout their lives.
Maybe bunnies "binkying" with kitties means they are practising the ability to escape, should kitty change his/her temperament.

This is something I feel strongly about. What about Feral cats, I bet they've had a bunny/hare or two for dinner! It probably wouldn't be unheard of.

I would NOT trust my "cats" (if I had four) in the same room as a rabbit just because I had read on the forum that it was "OK", simply because a few members have taken the risk and been VERY lucky.

Cats can scale 6 foot fences, I have seen them on my neighbour's shed roof! You could not make a bunny enclosure in a room, unless it was floor to ceiling high, that a cat could not get into. Unless you put a roof on it, but then your cats would sit on it. My buns (all 4) were petrified when the neighbours' cats used to sit on the roof of their run. (of course daily interaction COULD desensitise them)

When we had Sooty guinea pig on the side in the utility room, Oscar used to jump up and sit on her cage and shove his paw through the bars and claw at her in attempt to reach her. - a rabbit would have been bigger, therefore reachable, so he would have clawed it.

This forum is DEAD SET AGAINST Guinea pigs living with rabbits, how the heck can cats (with razor sharp teeth and claws) be more preferable?!

I had to go to hospital for a tetanus and was close to needing stitches in my tummy when my friend's cat (I was innocently asleep, whilst staying the night on her sofa) pounced on me and clawed my tummy while "playing", when I only moved a little bit to get comfortable. (my wound was mm away from needing stitches, the nurse said.)

You can also get cat scratch disease from the mouth or claws of a kitten under 6 months old and from adult cats if they have been near strays. (stray cats can attack your own cats if they are allowed out)

Some of the germs in a cat's mouth can also cause lockjaw. (tetanus)

http://www.drugs.com/cg/cat-scratch-or-bite.html

Another site on cat scratch disease
http://www.2ndchance.info/catscratch.htm

There are 101 and probably more, reasons why your rabbit should NOT live with a cat.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100615090440AAUAZ1G

According to this article, cats carry pasteurella on their teeth and claws too. I KNOW that's not good for a rabbit.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/2009/2/Wild-Rabbit-Cat.htm

One last point. Single rabbits have been known to adopt a cuddly toy as a companion, so don't tell me that the rabbit chose the cat as a companion as a viable argument.

I think I have provided enough evidence to suggest that cats should NOT be a rabbit's companion and vice versa.

I shall stop there I think, before I get accused of being obsessed with the subject.
 
I also feel it necessary to add that my partner and I were utterly disgusted at seeing a photo of a rabbit humping a cat and not one person has said it is wrong. I complained and got told the photo was fine?!

I actually would consider it, in my opinion as abuse towards the cat. Poor cat must be mentally scarred by being humped by a rabbit, and I'm not joking either!

If the photo was of a rabbit humping a rabbit, you would all have your reservations. Same as if it were another small furry animal. So why is it OK, or even funny or cute because it's a cat?!

I'm sorry but I'm disgusted and upset. I feel that I must leave the forum because of it. I will not associate with people who think a rabbit humping a cat is "funny" or "cute" or simply that there is nothing wrong with it!
 
All cats aren't the same, I have 10 that aren't the slightest bit interested in eating a rabbit. And the rabbits aren't at all afraid of the cats, or the dogs even. The cats mostly ignore the buns. People that talk about cats regarding rabbits as prey must not have cats, most cats are like 'what the heck is that thing?' They're just too big to see as prey.

Accidental scratches are a danger though. You have to know your cat well. Kitty was the only cat I trusted to live unsupervised with a rabbit.

I've never heard of Ann but if it is them "practicing" couldn't it be that they tend to practice binkying when they're happy? I've never heard of an unhappy rabbit binkying? They probably aren't consciously aware that it is a defense mechanism so they do it for enjoyment. Like a kitten play fighting with another kitten.
 
I do have a cat, I KNOW how my previous cat used to act around my rabbit, you could SEE HIM HUNTING MY RABBIT.

Admittedly Oscar never did that, BUT he always tried to play with my rabbit the way he would do with other cats - teeth and claws rough and tumble.
 
I also feel it necessary to add that my partner and I were utterly disgusted at seeing a photo of a rabbit humping a cat and not one person has said it is wrong. I complained and got told the photo was fine?!

I actually would consider it, in my opinion as abuse towards the cat. Poor cat must be mentally scarred by being humped by a rabbit, and I'm not joking either!

If the photo was of a rabbit humping a rabbit, you would all have your reservations. Same as if it were another small furry animal. So why is it OK, or even funny or cute because it's a cat?!

I'm sorry but I'm disgusted and upset. I feel that I must leave the forum because of it. I will not associate with people who think a rabbit humping a cat is "funny" or "cute" or simply that there is nothing wrong with it!

I haven't read the whole thread so I haven't seen that part, but I would imagine the cat is used to the rabbit and didn't mind. And it wouldn't be mentally scarring...I mean, it's not like animals think like humans. I don't know if the rabbits was humping for dominance reasons or mating reasons but it doesn't really matter either way.

Rabbits humping rabbits is perfectly normal, it's a dominance thing.
 
I haven't been "lucky", I know my animals well and I know that one of my cats is not a danger. If he won't even put his claws out to me he's not gonna do it to the rabbits. I don't let him play with them either, just be in the room with them heavily supervised.
My rabbits have never been scared of being near the cats. If they had been nervous the first time they saw them, they'd have never seen the cats again.

The difference with guinea pigs is that death is likely. My rabbits are almost as big as my cat. They would crush a guinea pig if they laid on it.

The rabbits do not "live" with the cats. I don't think anyone would actually make a cat and rabbit live in a hutch together on purpose.


I don't understand the problem with the humping photo. I wouldn't bat an eyelid if it was a rabbit humping a rabbit. The cat clearly doesn't care and I'm not sure that being humped is something that's going to mentally scar a rabbit :lol:
 
I also feel it necessary to add that my partner and I were utterly disgusted at seeing a photo of a rabbit humping a cat and not one person has said it is wrong. I complained and got told the photo was fine?!

I actually would consider it, in my opinion as abuse towards the cat. Poor cat must be mentally scarred by being humped by a rabbit, and I'm not joking either!

If the photo was of a rabbit humping a rabbit, you would all have your reservations. Same as if it were another small furry animal. So why is it OK, or even funny or cute because it's a cat?!

I'm sorry but I'm disgusted and upset. I feel that I must leave the forum because of it. I will not associate with people who think a rabbit humping a cat is "funny" or "cute" or simply that there is nothing wrong with it!

I'm sure the owner would not let either pet come to any harm.
 
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