Aimray12
New Kit
Hi all,
I have two dwarf rabbits that live indoors quite happily. Both fixed. Both bonded. I'm suddenly having trouble with my female though! She is 8 months old, by the way.
We have recently moved into a new apartment, in the old apartment when she was about 4 months old, she was fine. Teeny bit shy perhaps but would let me stroke her, even pick her up and cuddle her. Both my rabbits got on with my cat, even when my cat wanted to play with them. Most of the time they either played back or acted like she wasn't even in the room.
Until I moved. Now my female (Belle) is very shy of me - I have to bond with her as though it were from the beginning again and I haven't been able to let her run around with my cat in the same room because the first time I let them both out a few days after the move, she fully attacked my cat. Like she grunted, lunged and fully ravaged her taking a small chunk out of her leg and chased her right out of the room wanting to finish her off!
Every time my cat walks past the hutch now, Belle hops after my cat in the direction that my cat's walking past and she's tried to bite her through the hutch bars before. She stares at the cat intently whenever she's near and I know she's thinking "don't you come any closer."
She was never like this before and she is fully intending to do some real, serious damage.
I've wondered if perhaps it's a territory thing, with it being a new environment, but I really want them all to get along like they used to but I don't know how to encourage them to be friends again in case my cat gets hurt again. Or worse.
My cat wouldn't attack Belle, she's petrified of her now. I don't think that's fair to anyone involved!
I don't know why she's suddenly just flipped, my male (Winston) is absolutely fine with everyone and everything, but Belle and my cat have become mortal enemies in an instant and Belle is suddenly really wary of me. What could have caused this switch in behaviour? What can I do to resolve it?
Edit: I only let her out when I've put my cat in my bedroom now, so they both still get plenty of playtime daily, and I'm still working on bonding with Belle again. No picking up - just strokes, treats, praise, sitting with her on the floor and in the run of the hutch, all that stuff. It's taking a long, long time. I despair...
I have two dwarf rabbits that live indoors quite happily. Both fixed. Both bonded. I'm suddenly having trouble with my female though! She is 8 months old, by the way.
We have recently moved into a new apartment, in the old apartment when she was about 4 months old, she was fine. Teeny bit shy perhaps but would let me stroke her, even pick her up and cuddle her. Both my rabbits got on with my cat, even when my cat wanted to play with them. Most of the time they either played back or acted like she wasn't even in the room.
Until I moved. Now my female (Belle) is very shy of me - I have to bond with her as though it were from the beginning again and I haven't been able to let her run around with my cat in the same room because the first time I let them both out a few days after the move, she fully attacked my cat. Like she grunted, lunged and fully ravaged her taking a small chunk out of her leg and chased her right out of the room wanting to finish her off!
Every time my cat walks past the hutch now, Belle hops after my cat in the direction that my cat's walking past and she's tried to bite her through the hutch bars before. She stares at the cat intently whenever she's near and I know she's thinking "don't you come any closer."
She was never like this before and she is fully intending to do some real, serious damage.
I've wondered if perhaps it's a territory thing, with it being a new environment, but I really want them all to get along like they used to but I don't know how to encourage them to be friends again in case my cat gets hurt again. Or worse.
My cat wouldn't attack Belle, she's petrified of her now. I don't think that's fair to anyone involved!
I don't know why she's suddenly just flipped, my male (Winston) is absolutely fine with everyone and everything, but Belle and my cat have become mortal enemies in an instant and Belle is suddenly really wary of me. What could have caused this switch in behaviour? What can I do to resolve it?
Edit: I only let her out when I've put my cat in my bedroom now, so they both still get plenty of playtime daily, and I'm still working on bonding with Belle again. No picking up - just strokes, treats, praise, sitting with her on the floor and in the run of the hutch, all that stuff. It's taking a long, long time. I despair...
Last edited: