Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Anyone had a bad experience with rabbits and cats living together?

Viewing 8 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • kristen58
      Participant
      26 posts Send Private Message

        I have a rabbit, and I was thinking about adopting a cat.  Has anyone had bad experiences with cats and rabbits living together?  I don’t care if they’re friends, but I don’t want the cat to attack the bunny.  When I was a kid, we had both, and the bunny would follow the cat around, and the cat ignored the bunny.  My current bunny is a rescue, and in her foster home, the cat would follow her around and she just ignored the cat.  (She also ignores my 2 dogs at my house.)  So, in my experiences, cats and rabbits go together just fine, but I want to know if I should be worried about whether or not the cat I choose will try to hurt my rabbit.  Has anyone ever had a cat that did not do well with bunnies?

        Thanks!  


      • cinnybun2015
        Participant
        570 posts Send Private Message

          I think that some people have a larger rabbit and a smaller cat living together. I’ve never had a cat and a bunny at the same time, so I can’t be of much help there, but I know it does require careful supervision until you are positive that the cat will not try to take a swipe at the rabbit. Maybe have the shelter bring over the cat before you adopt it to see if the rabbit and cat act okay together?


        • kristen58
          Participant
          26 posts Send Private Message

            I forgot to mention that my rabbit’s not that small, about 7.5 lbs (so similar in size to a smaller cat.)  She also would not be afraid of a cat, she’s very confident and acts as if she’s in charge of the dogs.  

            I would be adopting from the animal control type shelter, so they wouldn’t really bring the cat to me.  So, I’d have to bring the rabbit to the shelter to introduce them prior to adoption, but I think that would be scary for the rabbit, I don’t think I would want to do that.  


          • StachesMommy
            Participant
            117 posts Send Private Message

              I think it really depends on the cat and your rabbit. Your bunny may not be afraid of the cat but the cat may have natural predatory instincts. Or it may want to initiate play and play a little too rough (not with a malicious intent but just because cats play differently). I think they can live together fine or learn to live together but they may not be able to be left alone.


            • vanessa
              Participant
              2212 posts Send Private Message

                I have a cat and 4 bunnies. My cat is fine with the rabbits. A few years ago my bunnies had 4 litters. The cat was fine with the baby bunnies too. She doesn’t try to play with the bunnies. The bunnies approach her out of curiosity, and Guinevere and Lancelot like her, and want to snuggle wiht her. She coexists with them, but doesn’t want to interact with them. She steps away when they aproach. Three times she has asked them a bit more forcefully to leave her alone… she took a mock swipe with her paw, but claws were not out, and she never actually touched them. I leave them unattended together. The cat sleeps in the bunny condo, uses the bunny hidey boxes, and Lancelot follows the cat to see what cool sleeping options he can use of hers.


              • LittlePuffyTail
                Moderator
                18092 posts Send Private Message

                  I’ve always had cats and rabbits. At one time, we had 5 cats and 2 rabbits. My current number is 2 of each. The cats and rabbits completely ignore each other but it’s fair to mention that this is probably because they are all seniors.

                  My buns are not free roam but come out for play time in the living room where my cats are sometimes hanging out.

                  The only issue I ever had was with my little Bridge Bunny, Stormy. He liked to terrorize the cats. He would chase them out of the living room while growling at them and if they didn’t leave and were laying down somewhere, he would try to bite there tails.

                  I would just make sure to get a cat who has always been an indoor cat as a previous hunter will obviously have a higher prey drive. And make sure to supervise at first. And remember, you need to make sure your bunny is not traumatizing the kitty too!


                • Mel94
                  Participant
                  64 posts Send Private Message

                    I have my Thumper while my mum has an elderly cat. We can’t have Thumper free roam or even living in a pen because the cat is too tempermental to trust to be around Thumper and when we’ve had the cat in the room with Thumps in the pen, the cat would stalk around it like he’s sizing up his prey. We have to have Thumper on a wheelable cage stand and have him out to play during the day while the cat is out. It’s frustrating because I don’t like restricting Thumper and we haven’t even litter trained him because I don’t feel comfortable putting a large sized corner tray in his cage that will take up space of his cage. I guess it depends on the individual cat’s personality and since you’re looking into adoption, whether they’d lived with other animals before.


                  • Deleted User
                    Participant
                    22064 posts Send Private Message

                      My friends have 2 house rabbits and 4 cats. One of the rabbits, Howard, is a big lop and he acts like a cat. He jumps on the couch for cuddles, he snuggles with two of the cats and he caused a kitchen reshuffle after eating all the cat food. The other rabbit is a little lionhead. She is scared of everything that moves and hardly ever leaves her hutch.

                      The two cats that snuggle are both toms and love human attention. The other two cats are an aloof tom who disappears for weeks at a time and a tiny tabby who is quite nervy and keeps to herself. All of them will hunt outside and bring back “presents”.

                      In short, it depends on their personalities. The cats are all different ages and the rabbit has been around for about 2 years. I reckon if you have a friendly or outgoing bunny they should be fine with a cat. It probably really depends on the cat as Mel94 said above.


                    • vanessa
                      Participant
                      2212 posts Send Private Message

                        Yeah – I don’t have the prey drive in my cat. She brings me birds and moles, but is not interested in hunting bunnies. My first male rabbit was extremely curious about her, and practically chased her around the yard, trying to get to know her. I think her attitude towards the bunnies is – “Leave me alone weirdo so I can use your awesome bunny condo”.

                    Viewing 8 reply threads
                    • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                    Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Anyone had a bad experience with rabbits and cats living together?