Should I let the new rabbit play with my cat?

[CharlesBate]

Hi everyone.

This is the first time I have a rabbit though I've been raising cats for years. Having a cat in the house makes me worried that they cannot get along well for long term. I’ve been told that I shouldn't let the rabbit be around the cat because it might be a danger for the rabbit. Is this true? Any advice for me?

 

[Zoobec]

I wouldn’t personally let a rabbit and a cat or dog mix. You don’t know if their predatory instincts will kick in

 

[chul]

Cats should not play with rabbits. A cat scratch can be fatal to a rabbit.

 

[tulsi]

Yes it is true. A scratch or bite from a cat can quickly go septic.

 

[Shimmer]

I've also had a rabbit who would see off any cat in the garden. It was quite funny to watch, but the cats got the message and kept well clear.
I agree that it's not a good mix. I've always kept cats and rabbits separate. I don't trust either with the other. Rabbits are prey animals and cats are natural hunters.

 

[Preitler]

A rabbit seeing off a cat in the garden is not the same as living in the same house. Cats sneak up on prey, if that doesn't work they lose interest. I too have seen my rabbit hopping up to and sniffing a cat that was sneaking up on her, cat got up, turned around and never bothered my rabbits again.

Cats are predators, and rabbits perfectly fit into their hunting sheme.
Social interaction and circumstances can make that irrelevant, but even if hunting instincts never come into play there can be some issues. Quite often there seem to be none though, but one needs to be aware. If I had a cat I definitly would introduce her to my rabbits, at 8-10lbs that shouldn't be much of a problem, unless it's one of THOSE cats.

That info of this website that get's promoted with ransdom posts like that on every single forum I attend is, again, somewhat of a half truth. I do understand that someone is proud of putting random rabbit knowledge morsels on a website, but the few info i've seen coming from there I wouldn't consider very accurate.