Introducing Young Bunny To Two 5 Month Kittens

[20yrold]

Hello everyone,

I have not posted on this forum for a while but I have once again ran into a issue which hopefully people in this forum can answer.

I have had two cats (one male, one female) for the last 5 months both tested, fixed and up to date on shots. Both are very friendly and love to play as far as I see them.

My girlfriend has decided to adopt a baby bunny in attempt to rescue a litter of baby bunnies that were going to be given off to random people who may or may not use them as prey for other animals. (Really sick f**ks)

The bunny would be somewhere from 4-6 months of age, and is already fixed and up to date in shots as we are adopting from an animal shelter in New York City. Additionally, the animal shelter claims that the particular baby bunny we are going to be adopting is very well socialized from a young age.

Since my girlfriend and I will be living in the same house (different rooms) I was wondering how I could integrate the bunny into socializing with my kittens. I heard that they are very social animals, and on some websites I saw, people wrote that their kittens got along with the bunny whereas some people wrote that it could be a risky business.

So my question is how exactly could I do this, and also since I go to college (as well as my girl friend) we would have to leave the cats and the bunny alone at some points in the day. However, I will emphasize that me or my girlfriend are almost never away from the house for more than 3 hours, and even if one of us are not at the house for longer than 3 hours, the other will almost always be at the house.

Thank you for reading this, and hopefully people can give me some insight on this, and even some pointers on how I can be a better friend to my newest family member.

 

[20yrold]

Someone please help me out here!!!!

 

[maggiedemi]

Personally, I wouldn't do it. When we had rabbits when I was a kid, we kept them in a cage. Our cats would have eaten them for sure.

 

[mightyboosh]

Maybe you've done this but here's a few links that may help.
I have a bunny but He's kept away from the cats as I'm not sure I could trust them. I'm sure others will reply who have actively tried to integrate the two species.

How do I introduce my new kitten to my rabbits? - RSPCA Australia knowledgebase

Introducing kittens to a home with house bunnies. - Rabbits United Forum

Introducing Cats and Rabbits | Pets4Homes

Introducing new kitten to rabbit

 

[20yrold]

Personally, I wouldn't do it. When we had rabbits when I was a kid, we kept them in a cage. Our cats would have eaten them for sure.

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate your honest input. Unfortunately I have no choice but to socialize the bunny and the kittens as the bunny has already been adopted. With that said, is there any helpful advice on how I CAN make it work?

I have browsed various bunny websites to see how interactions work but I would appreciate a more personalized response based on experience.

Thank you though.

 

[20yrold]

Maybe you've done this but here's a few links that may help.
I have a bunny but He's kept away from the cats as I'm not sure I could trust them. I'm sure others will reply who have actively tried to integrate the two species.

How do I introduce my new kitten to my rabbits? - RSPCA Australia knowledgebase

Introducing kittens to a home with house bunnies. - Rabbits United Forum

Introducing Cats and Rabbits | Pets4Homes

Introducing new kitten to rabbit

I have visited basically all of those sites but I will take a look at them once more. The main issue is that both bunny and kittens will be relatively young (before 1 year) and the kittens are already used to the house, I need to introduce the young bunny and most websites detail introducing new kittens to a already established elder bunny.

Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate it.

 

[Ardina]

My former roommate used to foster rabbits. Saipha, despite having a high prey drive (the poor hamster that she used to terrorize...), never saw the rabbits as prey. We did keep them separate just because the rabbits were fosters, but she and the rabbits would fall asleep with their backs touching through the puppy gate.

Here's some advice from what I learned: use a cage or a puppy gate, especially the first couple of weeks to avoid any games of chase. Also, use lots of treats when letting them interact. Cat treats all along the edge of the puppy gate, treats when she sniffed the rabbits in greeting, treats when she turned her back to them, etc. For the rabbit, you can do something similar. No matter how well they get along, please keep them in separate rooms when you're not there to supervise. As they become more comfortable with each other, they may try to play, but rabbit kicks can seriously injure a cat, and a cat bite can seriously injure a rabbit. Plus, they may take a while to figure out each other's body language, so one species' invitation to play may look like aggression to the other.

 

[ArchyCat]

Good luck. But .....

A tale to the wise. When my parents retired to the semi wooded portions of central Louisiana, he always kept two or three cats. People would regularly dump there cats in the neighborhood and my folks would take them in as indoor/outdoor cats. The cats would regularly hunt rabbits, and were quite successful at catching the younger ones. How ever they would not attack a full grown rabbit. They can give a cat a very nasty kick. It's all a matter of scale.

Cays are natural predators. And young rabbits are natural prey. Be careful.

 

[di and bob]

I wish you well, and I think everything would be fine as long as you cage the bunny when you are not home. You have got to remember cats and bunnies are animals, and that cats are predators and bunnies are prey. I personally would not trust them alone together to avoid potential heartache. I just watched my cat drag a rabbit that was as big as he was up the drive. Don't think it won't happen.

 

[maggiedemi]

Why not build a huge enclosure for the rabbits, like my dad did? It was really big and the rabbits had room to run. I just think you're setting yourself up for heartache. Cats eat rabbits.

 

[20yrold]

Why not build a huge enclosure for the rabbits, like my dad did? It was really big and the rabbits had room to run. I just think you're setting yourself up for heartache. Cats eat rabbits.

Hello thanks to all your replies it has been very helpful!

I have already purchased materials to build a massive pen within my girlfriends room as I figured a small cage would suck for any animal. The main concern also was that since bunnies are extremely social animals that are susceptible to emotions such as depression, I wanted to get the kittens and the bunny accustomed to eachother to avoid this sort of problem. If the bunny ideally got a long with the kittens, it could be beneficial as the bunny would not have to be left in my girlfriends room all the time, and would have playmates (of course under our supervision only).

 

[Kieka]

I do have a rabbit and cats and have had them in the past. Our rabbit has an outdoor run and hutch that he gets locked in at night. The cats could jump into his area but they don't. They've been relatively curious about him and will pat him from time to time. The rabbit in turn will nibble on a tail that gets to close.

In the past, and probably next six months, everyone has had more access to each other. In the past, we actually had a bigger issue with rabbits wanting to play more then the cats. Rabbits really are mischevious and playful little ones. Since your rabbit is older there shouldn't be any major issues with the prey/predator dynamic. Almost all the rabbits I've had either are too dominate to let a cat boss them around or too docile to make a good toy.

I'd start with a fencing between them for everyone to get used to smells and movement. Then take the rabbit on a leash around the area and tell the cats no if they start doing more than sniffing. The leash is more to be able to get the rabbit quickly if something goes bad. A rabbit defending itself is really not pretty and while they are prey their kicks and bites can do serious damage. The only wounds I dealt with were rabbit on rabbit but still it is better to be safe. Once the cats are over the novelty of the rabbits free range off leash and only supervised. Once everyone has been together for a few months to a year you can consider unsupervised. But wait for adult personality to take root and everyone to fully adjust to each other.

This is my rabbit, Peter. I have a thread in Other Animal about him Found Rabbit if you want to see.