Bunny to cat?

[HerculesandMolasses]

My rabbit is unneutered and I bet that plays a part in this. I used to not know much about rabbits so I didn’t know they would become mean at 6 months. I know more now. My rabbit and cat used to get along, until Hercules the rabbit reached puberty; he is very territorial towards my cat and seriously attacks him when my cat is in my room. He is fine outside of the room. My rabbit will press his ears against his head and put his tail up even if I pet my cat and my hand brushes near his cage. I no longer let the cat in my room when my rabbit is roaming. I hate Hercules fighting him because my cat is so gentle and, being the gentle giant he is, did not defend himself and instead ran away yelping. My rabbit doesn’t mind when the cat is outside of my room. He is super nice to my cat outside of my room. This really confuses my cat. Once Hercules is nice to the cat then the cat goes near his cage, then Hercules attacks him so my cat doesn’t understand. I will get Hercules neutered but not right now because my parents said only for Christmas. Is it possible for them to ever bond after those events?

[Cottontail]

It’s probably best to keep the kitty out of your room and keep an eye on Hercules outside of your room until he is neutered, unless you can keep an eye on him. The more incidents that you can prevent between your cat and your bunny the better. Some cats are very forgiving of past grievances, but others are not… we’ve had our share of both over the years… and either way, being attacked by something does hurt your trust towards it in the future.

The big thing here seems to be that Hercules thinks that both you and your bedroom belong to him; so when the kitty enters the scene or gets attention from you, it’s an unintentional challenge to Hercules so he becomes defensive/aggressive. Does that make sense?

I see no reason as to why they can’t be friends after “the snip,” but it’s best to limit their interactions to the positive ones that they still have outside of your room. That way, that’s the only impression they are leaving on each other, and not making Hercules feel like he needs to defend HIS territory by attacking the cat.

Some benefits of neutering, that you may let your parents know, if they don’t know already:
-litter habits improve (less poops missing the box, less or no-more pee/spray outside the box)
-the “oniony” smell goes away
-aggression decreases
-it’s easier to teach tricks or house rules without the hormones
-no more humping people.
-prevents the possibility of reproductive cancers that are common in bunnies

Even though it’s unfortunate that they want to wait to neuter him, it’s understandable; as they may not have it in their budget at the moment anyway. It is good that they are willing to neuter him by the end of the year, though.

[vanessa]

I don’t know if it is possible to predict the outcome. My intact males were always curious about the cat, and tried to hump her. Once I had the rabbits fixed, the humping attempts stopped but they never really bonded. I’ve seen really cute youtube videos of young bunnies snuggling with cats. I think a young bunny woudl bond easiest with a cat. But it depends on the cat as well. My cat shares one of my indoor bunnies spaces. The bunny is trying very hard to bond with the cat, but the cat only wants to use the bunniey stuff. Wants to sleep in her house, sit on her mat, curl up in her tunnel, etc. The cat gives the bunny a gentle swipe when the bunny tries to approach her while she is in the process of snuggling up in the bunny’s spot. Sometimes I take the cat our of the room if I feel she is being mean to the bunny, because I don’t want eh bunny to get angry and attack her. So my bet would be – depends on the cat, and a young bunny and young cat would work best.

[HerculesandMolasses]

My cat seems to forgive because he lays on my bed near Hercules cage and watches him, but when they’re outside together then the cat is still more watchful.

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