Bunny aggressive towards cat

Hi everyone,
Back on this forum as you folk were extremely helpful when I was bonding my new rescue rabbit to my widower lionhead.

Last year I adopted a kitten. He grew up around rabbits and even sits like a bunny. He has got very little hunter instinct, and although sometimes he is curious, he never gets too close to them - one could say he's even terrified.

Unfortunately one of my rabbits passed 6 months ago, and I had to find a companion for the surviving one. We adopted a lady mini lop, and we did let the rescue know that there was a bunny friendly cat in the home.

The pets are never together unsupervised, and have separate litter areas / feeding areas. However, when we are in the living room, we are all together. This has never been a problem, but since we finished bonding, we started noticing the rescue rabbit getting increasingly more territorial and aggressive towards the cat.

She chases him away, then does poop and pee to make the territory. The cat goes into hiding when chased, and returns after 5 or 10 minutes being careful and avoiding her.

We always try to prevent this if we spot it happening, but I got distracted while I was preparing a meal and unfortunately she bit the cat.

I found some fur and a little bite on his hind leg and now I fear for the worst - meaning this will become increasingly violent and dangerous for the both of them. I think the rescue hasn't been entirely honest with us and they just wanted to get rid of a bunny, as they told us she was very avoidant and shy around cats - and that she could live in a horn with cats. As they also lied about one of her health conditions, I wouldn't be surprised.

We love the cat, and want to protect him. We also are aware that the surviving bunny's mood and quality or life have significantly increased since he found another mate - so we are at an impass as to how to manage this.

Any ideas on how to try and coexist more happily? I am told some people used spray bottles to deter bunny attacks, and that stops things in the long run - but I am not sure.

I don't have the space to keep everyone separate, as it would mean permanently exclude one or two of the pets from our daily life - and it wouldn't be fair on them all in terms of enrichment and space (the other room is very tiny).

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
The Rabbit is a prey species and the cat will be seen as a threat by her. Add to this the fact that Does are very territorial. Also, she is relatively new to the situation and the Rescue told you she’s shy around cats- ie afraid of them. Her aggression is completely understandable- fear driven aggression.

Personally I would not be able to allow the cat into the room where the Rabbits are kept. It is a stressful environment for at least one of the Rabbits and is very likely to not end well.
 
The Rabbit is a prey species and the cat will be seen as a threat by her. Add to this the fact that Does are very territorial. Also, she is relatively new to the situation and the Rescue told you she’s shy around cats- ie afraid of them. Her aggression is completely understandable- fear driven aggression.

Personally I would not be able to allow the cat into the room where the Rabbits are kept. It is a stressful environment for at least one of the Rabbits and is very likely to not end well.
Thank you for your reply.

I do believe there could be a component of fear, however for months (post bonding of course) she has been very relaxed and even flopped with the cat in the room. I noticed these chasing tend to happen early morning and evening, just when she is more active.

The chasing has started to become a daily think and more frequent lately, and I do fear that I'll need to separate everyone, although this would be detrimental for the cat who is very clingy with us humans and always wants to relax and rest near us.
 
Unfortunately you need to prioritise what’s best for the obviously upset Rabbit. And that means providing her and her companion Rabbit an environment where she feels safe.

Remember, when we have pets of different species and one is by nature a predator, the other prey we cannot over-ride the hard wired instinct. Yes, some Cats and Rabbits can share the same room ( with no direct contact unless constantly supervised) but it’s not a natural scenario for them. Your Doe is telling you and the Cat that she isn’t happy with the current set up. She can’t verbalise this, she can only ‘speak’ by behaviour. The situation sounds to be stressful and ongoing stress is detrimental to a Rabbit’s health and welfare. If you want the Cat to have access to the room the Rabbits are in then the Rabbits need to be moved to another set-up.
 
I have to agree with others - rabbits are prey and cats are predators. Cats will naturally 'play' and chase things, including rabbits. The only safe thing is to make sure the cat has no direct access to the rabbits. Even a curious swipe of the cat's paw can cause a lot of damage to a rabbit. Cats can be very persistent as well.

Stress is a big killer of all prey species. If they feel threatened, they don't need to be physically damaged for it to be terminal - it's just how they are designed. Your rabbit obviously (and naturally) sees the cat as a threat.

I have house cats and outdoor rabbits. Sometimes I've had to bring rabbits indoors for medical reasons, but they are kept in a room that the cats (and dogs) have no access to. The other option is to provide a caged off area eg using puppy pen panels and a lid of some sort (eg mesh aviary panels or more puppy panels). Large dog crates (ie 48") are useful as a base, and you can add a shelf to make it more interesting. The rabbits would then be safer if they shut in when they are not supervised, but you would have to cover the sides that a cat paw could reach through (eg with small mesh) - and it's not enough room as a permanent home on its own, but is very useful as a safe place.

I would also look at providing additional entertainment for the cat, such as a a cat tree to climb.
 
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