maherwoman
Warren Scout
For those of you that don't know me from RO...
We have two cats (about two years of age, brother and sister from the same litter) as well as our three month old bun, Maisie.
We've been trying to introduce them for about a month now, but kept encountering the kitties wanting to smack (without claws) Maisie when she got too close. Maisie's very brave...so she just goes right up to the kitties to sniff noses, which offends them quite a lot, since in the general Kitty Code of Conduct, the new guy is not allowed to go up to the current guy...it has to be the one that's BEEN there going up to introduce themselves. So her being the "new guy" and going right up to them broke quite a bit rule in their book. Lol...
So, I had to stop and think about how best to have them around each other, as I've read several times now that cats and rabbits get along great. Not to mention, I could tell it was just the normal response they usually have to other cats they're meeting for the first time. There's always a little paw batting at first.
Anyway, I realized I could put something called Soft Paws on the kitties, and then they could bat if they felt they needed to, and Maisie wouldn't have ANY chance of getting hurt. (You can check out Soft Paws at www.softpaws.com .)
So, they've had the Soft Paws for a few days now, and last night I let Maisie out to see them. She came out, investigated about a quarter of the livingroom, and then noticed them. First, she tried Hobbes...hippity hop...right up to him and sniffed noses. He didn't react (except to sniff her nose back) at first, but the second time she came on over, he got offended, and BAT! Maisie went hopping back in to the cage, but stopped just inside the door of it. I went over, pet her nose and head a bit, and she then got the confidence to come back out.
Then she noticed Sunny. Went over, sniffed noses, everything fine...she then went over a second time, and BAT! Only this time, she hopped over to me, and sat down for some petting. Lol...she knew I was ready to make her feel better...it was SO CUTE!!
Well, after the two paw swats, the kitties went to the other side of the room (I think they thought they were in trouble), and just observed from afar. Maisie got to go around the room and investigate freely then. The only reason she decided she was done with investigating was when she stood up next to something that moved, and thereby scared herself. I comforted her after, and she hopped around her cage comfortably, but was then not so keen on coming back out just yet.
So there ya go!! Things went great...they're all three learning!
We have two cats (about two years of age, brother and sister from the same litter) as well as our three month old bun, Maisie.
We've been trying to introduce them for about a month now, but kept encountering the kitties wanting to smack (without claws) Maisie when she got too close. Maisie's very brave...so she just goes right up to the kitties to sniff noses, which offends them quite a lot, since in the general Kitty Code of Conduct, the new guy is not allowed to go up to the current guy...it has to be the one that's BEEN there going up to introduce themselves. So her being the "new guy" and going right up to them broke quite a bit rule in their book. Lol...
So, I had to stop and think about how best to have them around each other, as I've read several times now that cats and rabbits get along great. Not to mention, I could tell it was just the normal response they usually have to other cats they're meeting for the first time. There's always a little paw batting at first.
Anyway, I realized I could put something called Soft Paws on the kitties, and then they could bat if they felt they needed to, and Maisie wouldn't have ANY chance of getting hurt. (You can check out Soft Paws at www.softpaws.com .)
So, they've had the Soft Paws for a few days now, and last night I let Maisie out to see them. She came out, investigated about a quarter of the livingroom, and then noticed them. First, she tried Hobbes...hippity hop...right up to him and sniffed noses. He didn't react (except to sniff her nose back) at first, but the second time she came on over, he got offended, and BAT! Maisie went hopping back in to the cage, but stopped just inside the door of it. I went over, pet her nose and head a bit, and she then got the confidence to come back out.
Then she noticed Sunny. Went over, sniffed noses, everything fine...she then went over a second time, and BAT! Only this time, she hopped over to me, and sat down for some petting. Lol...she knew I was ready to make her feel better...it was SO CUTE!!
Well, after the two paw swats, the kitties went to the other side of the room (I think they thought they were in trouble), and just observed from afar. Maisie got to go around the room and investigate freely then. The only reason she decided she was done with investigating was when she stood up next to something that moved, and thereby scared herself. I comforted her after, and she hopped around her cage comfortably, but was then not so keen on coming back out just yet.
So there ya go!! Things went great...they're all three learning!
