Rabbits and Cats.

H

happybunny

Mama Doe
Hey all,

I really should not be asking this but my heart needs me too.

A cat was brought into the vets where I work about 6 weeks ago. It was found locked in a pet carrier (the bag style ones) outside a local church. Inside the carrier was a packet of food.

The cat is about 8 years old and the friendliest little thing. It talks to you all the time and just wants to be stroked. Sadly no one has come forward to home him and he is getting very depressed been locked in a kennel.

I have fallen head over heels in love with him but I have a house full of rabbits. I would love to adopt him but the bunnies have to come first.

Does anyone have any experience of adopting a new cat when they already have bunnies???

Just an extra note, the cat seems uninterested in chasing toys.

Please tell me if I should just stop thinking about him.

Thank you
 
I can't possibly tell you to stop thinking about Luckypuss! I love my cats and rabbits, and wouldn't be able to resist. The cat will need somewhere quiet, anyway, to settle in (do you have a room with no rabbits?) and then you could gradually introduce them. They then all become part of the 'family' Look forward to an update.
 
Depending on your set up it could work fine. My cats are mostly wary of my rabbits although the girls do headbutts with Frank. I have an indoor and three outdoors and no issues,it's worth a try
 
I have 9 rabbits and 3 cats. All my rabbits are outdoors now, but I have had cats and indoor bunnies too. I don't have any problems when they meet each other, I think my cat Tigger should have been a rabbit as he loves them.

I have to watch Rascal (the kitten who turned up on our doorstep and invited himself into our lives) as he is still young and playful and thinks everyone would like to wrestle, but he's getting better as he gets older and he is tending to ignore the rabbits more now he's growing up. As your cat is 8, you shouldn't have this problem, he's at that age when they start to slow down a little.

I'd agree with weeble, that it's worth a try. Poor cat deserves some happiness after being dumped like that. :(
 
OOOhhhhh. I did not think the responses would be so positive! I think I may have a good talk with the other half tonight and see if we can try it out. Thank you so much!

We have one room without rabbits, otherwise its a very rabbity household! We also have guinea pigs but they are separate so hopefully not an issue.

I just hope hubby is willing to give it a go.

Thanks again!
 
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Sounds like there has been some good experiences with cats and bunnies, so looking good for the wee cat :)
 
I've had 11 bunnies and 9 cats. Sadly, I now only have 6 bunnies and 4 cats but I have never had a problem. One of my cats turned up as a stray and I already had the bunnies. She was only 6 months old and playful but my bunnies have always had the upper paw.

I was worried how the cats would react to Cherry now she is a tripod bunny living in the kitchen but Moppet has been snuggling with her. It's sweet.

I hope you can give this poor cat a chance.
 
epends on the personalities of both the bunnies and the cats.

1 playful swipe/bite from a cat can be enough to cause a rabbit to die due to the bacteria in their saliva etc. I've heard of instances of this, along with shock being enough.

Personally, i'd never mix the two as one is a prey creature (rabbit) and the other is a predatorial (cat). In my eyes, they shouldn't live together, but that is solely my opinion.
 
GrahamL said:
epends on the personalities of both the bunnies and the cats.

1 playful swipe/bite from a cat can be enough to cause a rabbit to die due to the bacteria in their saliva etc. I've heard of instances of this, along with shock being enough.

Personally, i'd never mix the two as one is a prey creature (rabbit) and the other is a predatorial (cat). In my eyes, they shouldn't live together, but that is solely my opinion.
Click to expand...

I suspect that wasn't where the cats and rabbits were living together, though?
 
It really depends on the cats and the rabbits : whether they have never met the specie before, their past experience if they did, whether the rabbits are not going to be stressed by the cat (atavism prey/predators, how is the cat to react faced with a bunny jumping or running. May be you could test by introducing in a cage one of your bunny to the cat in a neutral area, so they can smell each other, and see how do they react towards one another. At your home, rabbits will be several on their territory, the cat will arrive in a settled situation. Are your rabbits full size rabbits or dwarf because the size also has an importance it the rabbit is almost the size of the cat, it'll be less tempting for the cat to regard it as a prey. It really depends on how his predatory instinct is developed or not if he is an indoor cat or not
 
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never had cats & bunnies at the same time but my 1st house bunny had a cat flap to access the back yard. As soon as it was open Angel would go & hook up with this neighbourhood cat. They'd sit together in this old anderson shelter where I had wooden palates (covered) . It was super cute. They were both jet black & they'd sit side by side, pot cat next to pot rabbit. My bunny would regularly nudge kitty for attention, the cat of course always looked nonchalant :lol: I could tell it was really love
 
Alot does depend on personalities.I have 5 rabbits and two elderly cats and the two species just ignore each other.I don't have free range bunnies though so mine have little contact anyway.It may be that im lucky to have tolerant bunnies and disinterested cats.:)

If you could give it a try and see how it goes that might be a good idea.As others have suggested,a separate room for the cat for a while and introducing them slowly might be an idea but id always supervise anyway.The cat would also appreciate having a room to call his/her own for awhile even after integrated with the rest of the household.My adopted cat Eddie lived in one room for awhile(while I was introducing him to our resident cat)and he still likes to go in there for some "time out"when he feels like it.

Good luck,I really hope it works out.
 
My cousin has a Maine Coon cat,she also had a patterdale terrier,they get on ok,though the cat was the first pet,and occasionally bats the dog to put him in his place.She also has guinea pigs and a hamster which the cat ignores totally.the piggy runs around the room and "Loki" the cat pays no heed to it.They don't have rabbits though.
 
Only had recent experience with both but our female cats are fine with the bunnies. On a couple of occasions they've met inside without mesh and they did the same sniff noses greeting they always do through the mesh. Apart from that they largely ignore them although we did once have Sticky (cat) and Perry (bunny) sunbathing side by side, mesh in between, in a slice of morning sun.

A real benefit is that our cats keep other cats out of 'their' garden which benefits the bunnies who are in an aviary outside. :)
 
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