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Can cats kill rabbits?

bridget

Alpha Buck
Our rabbits have the run of the garden and just lately a cat has been appearing - we don't normally get any cats in our garden. I am worried they'll get hurt :cry:
 
My cats only really catch baby rabbits (so heartbreaking) but they're petrified of my two when they're free ranging, mainly as Toffee just waltzed straight up to Max and that scared the poo out of him! Also Ghostie wouldn't think twice about giving them a nip on the nose!
Do you leave them free ranging un supervised?
 
My biggest cat has caught wild baby rabbits before now he doesnt chase my lot but i never leave them alone unsupervised
 
We used to leave them unsupervised but now we have to watch them. Lars is tiny - he is like a baby really :cry:
 
Yes cats can kill rabbits.If I were you Id be watching how the cat behaves around your bunnies.I have a cat which comes in the garden but my bunnies are twice the size of it so it leaves them alone.My next door neighbour has free range mini lops and the cat is always stalking them but hasn't hurt them Yet
 
We used to leave them unsupervised but now we have to watch them. Lars is tiny - he is like a baby really :cry:

Can you proof the garden so a cat can't get in?
I would supervise until Lara is older (love the name), just in case.
First i need to bunny proof the garden before i can let the buns have free ranging time un supervised
 
My brother's cats regularly bring home full sized wild rabbits, along with mice and birds :cry:!!! It's just the nature of some cats, it would be like wandering into a sweety shop to find two rabbits trapped in a garden. I wouldn't trust any cat even tho I love them dearly!!
 
My cat is terrified of the rabbits since my big girl beat him up years ago, but my old next door neighbours cat used to bring home full sized rabbits. Also bear in mind that fear and shock might kill a rabbit even without the cat touching it.
 
I found my cats in the run all huddled up in the hutch the other day while floppy was going around his normal business :lol: i've since proofed it all so they can't do it anymore ;) but they also sniff each other but the dogs do aswell bt thats mine, there all use to each other even tho i don't leave them alone, wouldn't trust someone elses cat mind :(
 
Yes, they can kill - sadly :( it only takes one sly and clever cat..

Use padlocks and hasps, we also have plastic spikes and have put garden mesh around the bottom of our hedges and the garden gate. We also installed a sensor light next to the hutch and keep the windows open when we're in the office to hear out x
 
My cats run away if my 3 rabbits go near them. They show no interest at all in trying to catch/eat them. A rabbit I had years ago when I was a kid acctually attacked the cat we had back then, poor thing was always getting his fur pulled out!
I do worry when I see a strange cat in my garden though, there are some huge ginger ones living nearby. I have seen Bully (one of my rabbits) chase away my neighbours cat a couple of times but not sure that he could take on one of the big tom cats.
 
Dont take the chance!

Simply yes as cats are predators and rabbits are prey animals. I wouldn't leave your buns at all unsupervised. If you leave them when you go out its not just cats but birds also attack bunnies. Magpies and esp seagulls as they're bigger.
A bunny would put up a good fight as I have seen a wild one take on a cat (well the end bit anyway) the cat ran away limping badly.
But dont take any chance.
 
Hi,
I think from reading this thread is that certain cats can be a threat to our bunnies, but as long as the hutches & runs are secure you should be safe. We have a huge run for our rabbits that my husband built specially & that attaches to the hutch, so they have a huge area to roam free daily. We bring them indoors often & in the summer months we sit in the garden with them & allow them to have roam the garden supervised. We have 3 cats & all of them leg it when the rabbits are around. Maybe its because our bunnies are as big as the cats that I think my cats feel more threatened by them. My cats sit on top of the run & hutch & I guess are used to them, but I am always vigilant when other animals are around & doubly vigilant at night when Fox's are more than a worry than cats in my opinion.

Just watch your bunnies always unless you know 100% they are safe.

Oh & I noticed somebody had mentioned plastic spikes........I would not want my cat coming home with bleeding pads, so please take caution with how you protect your bunnies.It can be done safely without harming any other animal. Cats are loved pets just as our bunnies & equally need protection.
 
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A neighbours cat used to come and visit my (then single) bunny, and they would lay together and play in the garden. Then I lost the rabbit, and the cat came every day and looked in his empty hutch for 2 weeks to see his old friend until he gave up coming.... it was so sad to see.

Not all cats are enemies of rabbits, but the bunnies I have now are scared of cats, and go away from them. (Even though they will charge at some huge wood pigeons if they dared to land on the lawn!)

I would suggest caution until you know how your rabbits/cats react to each other.
 
My cat Salem (R.I.P) totally loved my bunnies - he would rub himself against them through the run and try to groom them. However, on several occasions he brought home rabbits :evil: - baby and adult. Because of that I never ever trusted him outside alone when the rabbits were in their runs.
 
Last summer, 1 naughty cat from my neighbor got in my fence, and try to attack my buns. Minnie, my dutch bun, run really fast, and that cat never got near. Monty, my mini lop, is not as fast, and a bit of his fur was pull off, but no harm done.

I water spray that cat w/ a garden hose, as I really hate any1 trying to hurt my bun
 
yes beware,,cats are hunters and bunnies are pey..some will kill them outright osme worry them till they drop dead..but then again some cats will not.

our old cats and housebun were great pals but our boss kitty was being starved due to a gi problem and my bun was very ill with stasis following dental......then shed hunt her through the cage and sit on top licking her lips. however when my bun was better she wouldchase the cat at every opportunity and wake ehr up etc..i walked in to see ehr boxing the cat round the ears on her hind legs....never ever hurt each othe..used to race round the house together..all 3 cats n bun collapse in a knackered heap and sleep.

our cats we have now are pseudo rabbits..their younger bunsister was a pseudo cat so its been wonderful...they are still lost without her bless..they grieved too when we lost her last month.
bertie my rew is their dad...and bif my wickle dumpling is their mum and she acts like their mum even now..sorting out squabbles..telling them off for waking her up..making a mess in the hutch(yes they even sleep with the buns the hutch is in the lounge btw) the cats ownt go outside without the buns or us. slames always rubbing along the buns purring and cuddling them washing them..sleeping curled aorund them whenever he getsa chance...its so cute. but bandit gets worried sometimes even tho salem and him love to wash each other. they never attack the buns but do try to get them to join in cat games as willow always did..and bandit doesnt get the game and skulks off:oops:

i think the smaller the bun the more likely a cat is to chase it.
i cat proofed my garden as best i can by putitng up 7ft high strong mesh netting/fencing..to stop my cats getting out..and to stop next doors getitng in and getting attacked by willow:oops: i need to tell my neighbour now that her cat is safe as willows passed away..she was so possessive of her feline "siblings":shock:

dont use chemicals etc...water in a soaker gun aimed at the gorund near the cat works well...mesh fence it off like i have...use sonic cat chasers....but most of all..dont leave buns free roaming unattended..as wel as cats dogs can get in and even birds of prey:(
 
I think you have to judge how that particular cat is with your rabbits. My hutches are 8ft and last summer a neighbours cat regularly slept in the bedroom and the rabbits were in the hutch with it! (there is a ramp from the hutch into an enclosure). The cat was scared of the rabbits because when it wanted to go home it dashed out of the hutch.
 
It should be fine if your buns are supervised during free range time :)

I don't think you can really chance leaving any two different animals together just incase. If someone else cats come into our garden I shoo them away because I am scared one of my rabbits will hurt them :oops:

My cat will lay down next to my rats and go to sleep and doesn't even look up if they start climbing on her, but I still wouldn't leave her alone with any of my bunnies or rats because its not worth any of them being injured x
 
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