Introducing a cat to my buns... any tips

[moi]

So we have got ourselves a cat from a rescue centre. What's the best way to introduce him to my bunnies xx

[Jack's-Jane]

So we have got ourselves a cat from a rescue centre. What's the best way to introduce him to my bunnies xx

Hello stranger !

I do not know anything about Cats. If the Cat is an adult then finding out (from the Rescue) if they have any details about his previous home environment may be useful. If the Cat is an established 'hunter' getting him/her to 'ignore' the Rabbits could be a challenge I would think. I will leave it to those on here with Cat experience to offer advice. In the meantime I would not allow any possibility of direct contact between the Cat and your Rabbits

Good luck x

[hartleyhare]

I have an adult cat who we brought back from Greece last year. He was living rough in the woods close to the villa and then got injured by another cat. He must have hunted in the woods and he would certainly do that here if he was allowed to.

I started introduction to the rabbits once he had settled in and got used to the house. I began by bringing him into the rooms where the buns are and rewarding him with food treats and verbal praise for not reacting to the buns. If he did react I told him NO in a quiet but firm voice. If he persisted with undesirable behaviour he was removed from the room and ignored for a few hours. He soon learned that good behaviour around the buns was of more benefit to him. He approached Rubi a few times and she growled and lunged at him. On one occasion she pinned him against the sofa. So he learnt that buns can and will fight back if approached.

How comfortable your buns and cat can become together will depend on their personalities I imagine. The more confident your buns are around the cat the better. A cat is by nature a hunter and will go after smaller and weaker animals. If the buns are not afraid and do not display prey like behaviour the cat will learn not to react to them and lose interest. It will take time and patience and even if they are comfortable around each other I personally would not leave the cat alone with the rabbits. Dimitris is put into another room when we go out. You also have to bear in mind that your buns were there first and if they are frightened and uncomfortable with the cat being around then you may have to accept they will never mix. Good luck with the introductions.

[moi]

Thank you. He's been an indoor cat only so no hunting. He's currently chewing on my old crocs! Lol once he has settled in he will be able to explore outside. I'm so excited for that as it'll be his first time outside ever

[Babsie]

Lovely!
I kept my little Cats Protection girl in my dining room for 3 or 4 weeks. - partly because I didn't want her to get out and partly because I had other cats and I wanted them to smell her presence before they met her.The patio doors looked straight on to the rabbit area and she was absolutely agog when she saw them - you know the pictures of meerkats standing bolt upright...
It also meant, of course, that they could observe her.
They had already met my other cats so were absolutely unphased by her when they met. Cats and rabbits were one happy family!
As people know, I adore cats and I hope your new little one brings you much pleasure. One lucky little cat!

[Babsie]

Bella meeting rabbits for the first time

[moi]

I'm hoping he's gonna be a loving Brother to my buns. Today I got him a pretend mouse. The sort you pull the string and it moves. He wait a for it to stop moving then cuddles it He's been watching the outdoor buns from the window in awe. X

[Beapig]

We got our rescue cat Merlin in February and he was a terror with the bunnies to begin with - he loved to try and chase our Nethie, Beatrice as she was the smallest. After a couple of months he lost interest and Beatrice became a lot braver. All three rabbits will lie down next to him (although Merlin won't stay for long, he's a bit of a wimp ) - Beatrice will chase him now, which is funny to see.

Just thought I'd tell my story as I was worried that I'd have to keep them away from each other, but I live in a highly populated cat street and get them coming through the garden all of the time and the bunnies aren't bothered in the slightest.

Good luck with your new rescue cat!

[Lagomorphine]

We have a cat (Rose) and two rabbits (Willow and Charlie); the rabbits are allowed free range in the garden whenever we are at home, so I have had some experience with how they interact with the cat. Obviously a lot depends on the personality of the various parts involved but in our case they mostly just ignore each other. The cat used to stalk the rabbits but didn't show any aggression; the rabbits used to run over and sniff at her which made her slightly weary and walk off. In general, there is not much interaction these days; they stay out of each other's way.

Occasionally Willow hops over to Rose and sticks her head under her chin (you can almost hear her "lick me! I am the boss here") which is a bit too much for Rose to bear, so she walks off to a safe place. That's about it.