Cats and rabbits?

Hi all, I am *thinking* about maybe ever so slightly getting a rescue cat... It def won't be for a while as I'm making sure the rabbits and dogs have everything they need first (H&D's run needed, dogs teeth need cleaning...) so I want to make sure I'm thinking of everything before I think more seriously about it. I'm thinking I could convert my old double hutch into a cat shelter so the cat could stay out while I'm at work. But I'm wondering how this would work with the rabbits? I know lots of u have cats (and obviously rabbits too :lol as they would all be sharing the back garden. The cat would obviously be able to leave the garden as there's some land at side of house that is a cats dream playground :lol: and part of my reason for wanting to offer a rescue cat a nice home as I live in a good place for one!
So my questions r... Do ur cats bother ur rabbits? Do they try to pull at the mesh on hutches/runs? Obviously I don't want to bring an animal into the mix that's going to torment the rabbits. Are ur rabbits scared of cats? I have dogs and the rabbits aren't bothered by them one bit. I know theres been a recent post about Bengals but it sounds like they act completely differently towards rabbits than ur average moggy would. I think that's all my questions for now :lol: Thanks :wave:

My rabbits are not scared at all by my cats, and the cats are not overly fussed with the rabbits. They watch them through the mesh but never chase them or actually go close enough to touch the mesh...sometimes just for a sniff though in our old house we had 3 local cats who used to sit on the run and the rabbits didn't mind at all. In my experience cats find them fascinating but not something worth trying to get at :wave:

I don't have cats myself but in our old house it was cat city. The only cats that seemed to try and bother them were youngsters but aslong as your mesh is of adequate quality / small guage they shouldn't come to any harm. They never tried to rip the mesh or anything it was mostly stalking behaviour and would of put paws through mesh if they'd of fit. The buns were never worried, Willow would sometimes rush at the run side and chase them off so often they were more scared of her than visa versa.

Most the adult cats just watched, I would even come home some days and find cats snoozing on top the runs and the buns carrying on as if everything was normal. :lol:

Is this the second thread titles cats and rabbits? I'm so confused lol.. If you have a search there are endless cat and rabbit threads

My outdoor pair come inside for a few minutes if they're going to the vets and the smell alone of the cats freaks them out, even though we lock her out of the kitchen. Poppy isn't bothered and Roxy loves her but she used to watch her constantly, she would groom her when we had to feed Poppy but I would never have let her do it for long because I was worried about a stray paw catching her.

It's not so much the cat I would be worried about, but the prey/predator situation and everything and how the rabbits would react and how they would live, if they would live with a cat watching them constantly or just smelling a cat and them reacting to that. I don't know though, our cat is indoors and manages to freak my outdoor rabbits out!

So long as you are certain that the cat cannot reach the rabbits. From bitter experience I know even a small cat can kill an average size rabbit.

Thanks for the replies :wave: Hmm the rabbits r secure, they have to be as there's foxes nearby but it's the rabbits being worried by it that I'd be worried about. I would want an adult cat, not a kitten, and hopefully the rescue would be able to tell me a bit about the personality and the likelyhood of it being a cat that would bother rabbits. However, my rescue dog, Riley has taught me that an animals personality in rescue is not necesssarily a reflection of how they'll behave when u bring them home!! We don't really have many cats come around here, I know a few neighbours that have them but I don't really c them, my next door-but-one neighbour has one but I hardly ever c it, it only seems to go out when the owner walks their dog and the cat follows them :lol:. Iv seen a cat maybe 2 or 3 times (in nearly 6yrs here!) actually jump onto the fence but the dogs soon scare them off! I think the dogs would get used to a cat that lived here tho, when I had a stray for a few days, they soon learned to leave the cat alone!!

Sorry if its a repetitive thread! I never thought to search!!

one of my cats now wont go outside because she is scared of one of my rabbits who free range around the garden yet she and rabbit who lives indoors sit and groom each other! in the evenings the animals all have their treats, I sit on the carpet and sat beside me are a rabbit, 2 cats and 1 great big sopppy labrador all munching their treats then they all lay down together, I have even seen the rabbit grooming the dogs foot althoug very gingerly :lol:

Not a problem in our house!

Aw thanks u 2! Love that pic :lol: When I was young we had cats and rabbits that were fine together i suppose its just a major worry that I'd bring a cat that wouldn't 'fit in' and have to take it back as I don't think I could do it! But that's why I like cats cos they just do their own thing and adapt. I don't think my rabbits would be bothered.

This is my sisters rabbit, Candy, when we were kids with our cat Luca


And my rabbit Tammy with Candy and Max the cat! As u can c it wasn't a prob for them either :lol:

Scarlet and Ori have a shed now, but when they were still in that hutch and it was wet Squeak the cat would sit under their rain cover too! The buns love him, Scarlet hops along after him when he walks past and they touch noses through the run

RedFraggle said:

Scarlet and Ori have a shed now, but when they were still in that hutch and it was wet Squeak the cat would sit under their rain cover too! The buns love him, Scarlet hops along after him when he walks past and they touch noses through the run

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This is what they're like with my dogs

not an issue in our house, the big girls are scared of the rabbits if they're out of the run :roll: but if the rabbits are in the run the girls walk past, sit next to, watch, sleep near them. Oscar isn't sure about them, hes only been out with them once and started trying to pat them as they walked past so I made him leave the room. When the cats are shut away he sleeps near them and watches but doesn't try to attack.

My rabbits love the cats, they think they're really interesting and are always bumping their noses on the cats, I appreciate my animals are all pretty relaxed about each other though

Aw more lovely cats Can't help keep looking at the rescue pages even tho its pointless at the moment! Seen so many lovely ones tho I know il find one I love if and when...

Vitani with Ruby-Rabbit



Obviously every cat is different but my 3 have been fine, Mischa (cat) even likes to groom some of the rabbits if I have them out for a brush/nail clip. If anything, sometimes the cats are scared of the bigger buns :lol: When the cats lay next to the runs the rabbits don't mind at all and often lay next to them through the bars

silverrabbit said:

Vitani with Ruby-Rabbit

Obviously every cat is different but my 3 have been fine, Mischa (cat) even likes to groom some of the rabbits if I have them out for a brush/nail clip. If anything, sometimes the cats are scared of the bigger buns :lol: When the cats lay next to the runs the rabbits don't mind at all and often lay next to them through the bars

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Aw thanks for that! :wave: I know obv every cat is different but I just wanted a general idea of mainly good or bad :lol: Hopefully a rescue would know if a cat is ok with other animals. It will have to be quite a confident, independent cat but soft at the same time :lol:

Liking all the positive feedback I hope I can get one (even tho iv told everyone I know 'I'd love a cat... But don't worry I won't get one!' :lol