Cats and Bunnies

[BevBunny]

Hello all, its been a while since I've been around, so hope you're all well. My clan are fine, Charlie turned 9 a couple of months ago and is still going strong!

Anyhow, we've almost bought a house, and I've always promised myself that I'll have a cat or two when I get my own place. So, I've started thinking about practicalities and am wondering how other people have coped with cats and bunnies together. My buns will be living in the big open plan lounge/dining room, they'll be in their dog crate when we're not around.

So, is it best to aim for two kittens or two older cats?
Will they ever be friends with the bunnies or will they always need to be kept apart?
Can I get the buns and the cats to use their own litter trays and not each others? (I was thinking about leaving the buns with wooden cat litter and having a completely different type for the cats?)

Any advice or peoples experiences would be great,
cheers
Bev

[charl343]

Hi,
I had my cat before I got my bunny, she is about 4 my bun paddy is just over 1. At first I was a bit anxious about letting them near each other so kind of like bonding 2 buns I introduced them gradually and it turns out now the cat is far more scared of Paddy than Paddy is of her which is quite amusing!!

[Denny]

awwww, Happy Belated Bunday to Charlie bun:D 9 years old :D wow:D are you still on a calcium free diet Bev?

cats and buns can get on but I would say it depends on the bun and the cat. When I had Mr Bo-Jangles I also had two old cats Monty and Casper. Monty I would not trust alone with Bo but on hindsight now, I really dont think he would of harmed him as he was never a hunter, in fact, Monty used to curl up right upto the run and Bo-Jangles was always sleeping close upto him on the other side, so I actually think they liked each other. Monty would even chase my mom and sisters dogs away from the run as if he was trying to protect him:lol: :lol: Only once did Monty Bop Bo-Jangles on the head to get him to back off but there were no claws drawn which was good but I never let them loose together, I used to hold Monty whilst Mr B0-Jangles was racing around the garden;)

Casper was a whole diferent ball game, Casper was the hunter out of my two cats but he never got chance to go anywhere near Bo-jangles as Bo would chase him off downt he garden:lol: :lol: they would occassionally kiss each other in the kitchen but then Bo would go for him and through the cat flap they would go and I would find Casper on the fence at the bottom of the garden:lol: Casper I did trust with Mr _bo_Jangles but it was Bo-jangles I did not trust with Casper :lol:

I had my cats from 6 months old from the cpl, Monty was 17 when I had to have him pts and Casper was a month away from being 18 when he died:( I feel that most pets know when there is a new addition to the family so know not to eat them:lol:

I would love another cat but feel that I cannot at this time as Marcel de bun is petrified of them which is understandable as he was attacked by a cat in his previous home. He gets really stressed when he see's one on the fence, so much so that it has rubbed off on Eddie bun now. Its quite funny to watch though as Marcel will thump and leg it into the house, Eddie then looks, starts thumping, looks for Marcel, realises he has gone and then he legs it into the house to find Marcel:lol:

I cannot answer the litter tray question as both of my cats had keys to the cat flap:lol: :lol:

Kittens or older cats, both just as adorable. Kittens tend to trash your curtains alot at first as they are attracted to mountaineering :lol: :lol: :lol: but it is great fun to get the hunky firemen out to rescue your cat who is forever up the christmas tree each year:lol:

[Muppet2]

I would think they wouldnt want to use each other's litter tray. (Urgh, dont like the smell of YOUR poo :lol: )

When Muppet and I stay at my mother's, his litter tray and her cat's litter tray are in the same room and they ignore each other's. This only for weekends though.

Not sure about using two different types of litter - presumably you still cant use the clumping kind for the cat(s), just in case bunny decides to pop over for a nibble.

[Mandy]

I have a house rabbit and a cat and they get on really well. Worm the cat likes to sit in Audrey the rabbits cage with her and grooms her. And they also like to snuggle up on the floor together. Here is some photos of them:
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=83317&highlight=audrey+worm

I would go for adult cats as kittens can be very unpredictable and so playful they could hurt the rabbits by accident....if you go to a rescue they should be able to match you with suitable cats. When you first introduce them make sure you tell the cats off if they go to swipe them etc and they'll soon get the message. You'll probably find they'll either be indifferent to each other, or get on.

On the litter, Worm only occassionally has a litter tray indoors (when I'm away etc) and Audrey likes to use her tray! But Worm never uses Audreys....Audrey also loves eating the litter from Worms tray so watch out for that.

[lucycat]

I have a cat and two rabbits and whilst she isnt keen on them as long as they keep wel out of her way ie dont try to sniff her face she is fine.

But shes not a big hunter (mice mainly which is handy). My mums tom cat on the other hand I wouldnt have risked with the rabbits. big hunter believed food had fur or feathers. Id say if you have small rabbits ie netherlands or polish type I wouldnt risk it. If they are bigger you are better off with a female cat and if you can keep them apart in the early days maybe a kitten but I can see there are pros and cons here. But maybe that way they are used to the rabbits from day one, i do think a female is generally smaller and generally gentler with their paws and roams less (added advantage). There are exceptions and clearly the character of the cat matters, a rescue may be able to advise best eg a cat thats been feral is more likely to hunt than one that is used to being fed by humans on demand!

[BevBunny]

Thank you all for your replies, I am feeling more confident that it could be OK. I'll give ARC a call and ask them to keep an eye open for a suitable candidate - ie slightly older, laid back, and female (I'm allergic to male cats). I also hadn't thought about the fact that kittens can be destructive - we'll be buying new curtains, sofa's and carpet for the lounge - probably not a good idea to have a kitten! Thankfully the buns are very well behaved and don't chew the furniture (provided they have their cardboard house to destroy!

One day I hope to be able to show you photos like Mandy's. :D

[BevBunny]

awwww, Happy Belated Bunday to Charlie bun:D 9 years old :D wow:D are you still on a calcium free diet Bev?

Hi Denny, sounds like I won't know if the cat and buns will get on until I try it, if all else fails I guess they'll just avoid each other.

Yes, Charlie buns is still on a Calcium free diet, Steve just pointed out to me that Charlie is 8 not 9, sorry, my brain obviously had a wobbly moment. Charlies calcium issue is less serious now he's getting older - mostly cos his kidneys are going a bit so he drinks loads more which helps flush the calcium deposit out. How did you get on with your bun?