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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A kitty and rabbit bonding part 2

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    • magicstorm101
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        Tenshi and my 6 month old cat have been living together for 3 months.(Tenshi has been with us for a year.) They havent had much of an issue being together, and Tenshi is comfortable when the cst is around his cage. Lately the two of them have had a few supervised out of cage encounters, and on Tenshi’s part I was highly impressed. His past encounters with other rabbits were either aggressive or had him scared. He was perfectly calm around the cat, and didnt take much notice of him. Tenshi even hopped near the cat, who I had on a harness the whole time. Tenshi seems to have established his dominance from their past encounters where he chased the cat out of his ‘territory’,and doesnt think twice about turning his back on him.The cat himself is another issue. He sees Tenshi as a friend, but tries to pounce or bat at him.(in these cases, I stop him before Tenshi notices) he only does this when his back is turned,and is easily intimidated by Tenshi. In their recent meeting, the cat batted Tenshi in the face. Tenshi only perked his ears and leaned in toward the cat,but he did it so quickly I was afraid he would get aggressive, I separated them. I am unsure what to do. I would let Tenshi assert his dominance so the cat would learn not to touch him, but I dont want anyone to get clawed or bitten if the cat cant take a hint. I also dont want Tenshi to lose the confidence he has around the cat.


      • Lulu Cuteness
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          Is your cat claws pulled?? i woul never let a cat near my rabbit with claws cats are so fast you never know what they are gonna do next


        • magicstorm101
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            Posted By Lulu Cuteness on 3/09/2014 12:29 AM

            Is your cat claws pulled?? i woul never let a cat near my rabbit with claws cats are so fast you never know what they are gonna do next

            well, no. I dont really believe in declawing cats. There could be a time when they would need them in life.Plus from people Ive talked to about CatxRabbit relationships,that has not been necessary.  but I ALWAYS blunt his claws in every meeting.(he never has his claws out when he bats Tenshi,but I do so anyway.)


          • Tessie
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              I’m afraid I don’t have any experience with cats and bunnies so I can’t really help, but I’m sure someone else will be able to!
              I also just wanted to say that I’m sure de-clawing the cat isn’t necessary.


            • Boing
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                I’m sorry to hear that your cat-rabbit meetings haven’t gone as planned.

                That said, declawing is never the answer.  Keep the cat’s claws clipped; that way you never need to worry about whether or not they are sharp – I do my cat’s every three weeks-ish, as soon as I can without quicking her.

                Your cat is really a kitten, despite his/ her six month old size, and that is a contributing factor to the behavior you describe.    

                I don’t know what the size difference is, but for cats this would make a difference.  My cat and rabbit are the same size. 

                That Tenshi is comfortable is a very good thing.  About the batting, if the cat was on a leash, the rabbit approached, and the cat batted him, this is to be expected.  The cat can’t run, and you stated that he had “established his dominance from their past encounters where he chased the cat out of his ‘territory'”.  If that is the case, and the cat was tied up, he had no choice but to fight – he was cornered.

                Ignoring the cat is a good thing; cats don’t like pushy animals (or people), and when your kitten is grown up, he will appreciate this.

                  

                My cat has batted my rabbit.  Her claws are never out, and she only does it when he is being very ‘in your face’, as in shoving his nose under her chin, in her face or in her stomach, repeatedly.  I think he wants her to groom his head.  She understands, but doesn’t want to.  Sometimes she will give a half hearted lick.  I’ve never had to intervene.

                If the cat only bats the rabbit from behind, how did they come face-to-face to have the rabbit batted in the face?  I’m trying to understand the dynamics here. 

                With my two, I would like the rabbit to learn not to touch the cat!  You may find yourself with the opposite problem when your kitten grows up.  Also, the rabbit could potentially hurt the kitten too.

                Don’t give up on the cat.  My cat is the perfect candidate for hunting – born on the street to a feral cat, adopted as a kitten, found fending for herself 7 years later (info from HS microchip records), adopted by me, 2 years later adult rabbit moves in.

                Lest anyone somewhere suggest it, don’t get a second cat to distract your cat – cats and dogs are much more predatory in multiples.

                I suggest that you keep something the cat finds irresistible with you, and leave it off leash (disclaimer: you know your abilities and your animals best; if your gut tells you not to, don’t do this).  A laser pointer, people food, etc. would work well.  You don’t want the cat to associate the rabbit with leashes and punishment.  

                With any luck, your kitten will mature, your rabbit will back off, and you will wind up with something like the picture below.

                Rabbit: Groom me!

                Cat: You don’t exist!

                They do sometimes veg together too, but I am happy so long as things are harmonious.  This picture was taken less than two weeks after they had been introduced, but the cat was a cat, not a kitten.  I would be very surprised if you still have this problem in a year.    Don’t give up, and good luck!  

                Boing (a cat person)


              • magicstorm101
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                  ah, when i said the cat tries to bat at him from behind, and Tenshi got bat in the face, I forgot to mention that Tenshi was on the couch at the time. the kitten was on the floor,and reached up to his face,trying to touch him. He didnt hurt Tenshi,it was a light tap.(I wasnt sure how Tenshi would take it.)The cat will hesitantly reach his paw out to Tenshi when he sees him. It seems like he doesnt know what the rabbit is,exactly. Im not sure why he does this…

                  I think I will keep the cat on the harness,though. As you said, the cat is still a kitten,and very unpredictable. Between the two of them,he actually approaches Tenshi most of the time,and sometimes follows him when Tenshi goes behind tables and such. When he decides to run away, I let the harness go. The two of them are relatively the same size, and Tenshi has no problem chasing the cat away.(although the cat is not fully grown,so im sure he will be twice Tenshi’s size later on.)

                  I will definetly try the distraction thing you suggested.That is an amazing idea. It would be good for the cat to focus his energy on something, and associate Tenshi with good things!


                • Slowebot
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                    I have been working on bonding my cat and rabbit as well! I think what you’re doing is fine, even though my cat is really docile I try to watch his body language very carefully because he has the tendency to want to play with buns. My rabbit could literally not care less for him, my cat actually gets freaked out if the rabbit gets too close and is smelling him. I agree that you should distract the cat, I’ve been letting my rabbit out in the room where the cat is when I feed him and if I notice my cat getting distracted I work on getting his attention back on the food. Something else I’ve been doing is rubbing towels on either animal and putting it in a spot they spend a lot of time in (my cat sleeps in his carrier so I put the bunny towel in there and the cat towel goes in the bunny cage). So far there’s been no cuddling which I’m hoping for in the future but also nothing bad has happened. Also I was watching some bonding videos and people will spray the bunny or cat that is being aggressive to deter the aggressive behavior and that seems to work.

                    I also agree that you shouldn’t declaw your cat so thank you. If your cat is just playing I would say he will probably grow out if it. If your cat is trying to establish himself I find if my cat has a choice between going to his own spot (like a high part of the cat tree) or batting my rabbit he will usually jump to his spot and watch the bunny from there as a form of independence/dominance or something, I don’t know how a cat’s mind works. Whatever you do, you know your animals best so you make your own judgement calls!

                    But good luck and keep us updated!


                  • magicstorm101
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                      Posted By Slowebot on 3/09/2014 1:50 PM

                      I have been working on bonding my cat and rabbit as well! I think what you’re doing is fine, even though my cat is really docile I try to watch his body language very carefully because he has the tendency to want to play with buns. My rabbit could literally not care less for him, my cat actually gets freaked out if the rabbit gets too close and is smelling him. I agree that you should distract the cat, I’ve been letting my rabbit out in the room where the cat is when I feed him and if I notice my cat getting distracted I work on getting his attention back on the food. Something else I’ve been doing is rubbing towels on either animal and putting it in a spot they spend a lot of time in (my cat sleeps in his carrier so I put the bunny towel in there and the cat towel goes in the bunny cage). So far there’s been no cuddling which I’m hoping for in the future but also nothing bad has happened. Also I was watching some bonding videos and people will spray the bunny or cat that is being aggressive to deter the aggressive behavior and that seems to work.

                      I also agree that you shouldn’t declaw your cat so thank you. If your cat is just playing I would say he will probably grow out if it. If your cat is trying to establish himself I find if my cat has a choice between going to his own spot (like a high part of the cat tree) or batting my rabbit he will usually jump to his spot and watch the bunny from there as a form of independence/dominance or something, I don’t know how a cat’s mind works. Whatever you do, you know your animals best so you make your own judgement calls!

                      But good luck and keep us updated!

                      ah! another work in progress, like me! and it turns out,my cat is indeed playing with Tenshi. However, I dont think Tenshi enjoys the batting. Ive seen him when he’s aggressive, but that isnt the case here with him and the cat. He seems to be irritated with the cat,but tolerates it being around. From what I can tell, Tenshi does not try to hurt the cat. He only confronts him. 

                      I’ve also tried the towel experiment too! I left it in their beds for a few days before I swapped them out. I had the same result, nothing really happened.(Tenshi sniffed it, scraped it under his belly, then ate some hay.)

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                  Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A kitty and rabbit bonding part 2