Kitten and Bunny - best friends?

Question

Now I know that they are not naturally chummy, but is it possible for the kitten to learn NOT to try to eat my rabbit?
For now, the rabbit's locked up in his cage, but I'd like to let him out as I've always done. I just know the kitten would LOVE to "play" with him...
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

Kitten is about 5 months old, the rabbit is about 5 years old. It's a dwarf rabbit so he's not very intimidating.

Answer 1

I had a bunny named Bow and I still have my cat named Aero. They were so cute when they were little. They used to chase each other around the house and play. The thing is is that I got the bunny first and then I got Aero when he was a kitten. When we got Aero, he was smaller then the bunny and intimidated by him. They were best friends though and when Bow died he was heartbroken. Bunnies and cats can be friends. You need to really watch your cat and let they play, but it the cat starts playing rough, put the bunny back. The cat has the upper hand in this battle.

If you want extra precaution, try putting some claw caps on the cat. They're called soft paws and you can get them and almost any pet store. I would give it a try, but I don't personally know your animals, so just don't let them out of your sight at first and see how they do. Good Luck!

PS- I have pictures of Bow and Aero if you want to see them let me know. I don't know how to post them on here because I'm new.

Answer 2

Yes, it is popssible for them to become friends. Always keep their interaction supervised, espically to start with. A cats normal instinct is a rabbit their prey. I have 14 cats, one is a four month old kitten and we have a rabbit also that we let out in our house - supervised only to play. The cats don't mess with her, but the kitten wants to play and he gets a little rough by biting on the rabbits ears. We interrupt this so the rabbit doesn't get hurt. We also have hamsters that one of our cats actually gets in the playyard with and she has never hurt one thus far, but we never leave them alone. My son has an iguana and will put it on his bed with the kitten and they seem to get along. We have cockatiels that we let out to fly, but some of our cats we must put outside because their prey instincts are very strong and they will harm the birds, while one of our cats just lays there and the birds will walk all over this cat. Outside we have a sheep and a goat and we let our wolf mix and other dog in the pen to run together. We have never worried about their interaction, neither the wolf or dog will harm them, its the goat that rules that pen. When our wolf mix broke loose, the neighbor put her in the pen since they knew we do this ourselves. For seven years we had another rabbit, until he passed last year just before Thanksgiving and he would chase the cats all over ther house. The rabbit was a 10 pounder and the size of the cats. The wolf mix was afraid of him and would hide. However, if our dog was in, we never let the rabbit out, he would try to harm the rabbit. As you can see, yes it is possible for your rabbit and kittten to get along.. I've had many of my pets for over nine years and we always do one thing when introducing a new pet into our home, no matter how big or small we always call them "baby" and repeat it to them so all the animals come to know not to hurt the new comer. I started doing this 8 years ago with the wolf mix so she would not hurt the goat and accept him into the family. She did nip his ankle, the goat in turn headbutted the wolf mix and rank was established. She never has nipped at the goat again.
Well, good luck and just let them interact with supervision. whereas we never let our rabbit loose alone, you might be able to by starting with short time of 5 minutes or so, but stay where you can see them at all time just in case.

Answer 3

Cats and bunnies can be friends. Keep encouraging interaction in small doses. Cats are territorial and take a while to warm up to new animals. Just like if you got another cat, they would hiss and be mean to each other at first. Keep the cage where the cat can check out and sniff the bunny and a couple times a day let the bunny out. Make sure you monitor them together though. You can even litter train the bunny so it can live outside the cage with you guys. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

If kittens meet other animals while they are still young (2-8 weeks), they will regard them as other cats who look and smell funny. This is why kittens need to have positive human contact when they are small, lest they grow up to be feral.

Sure, a kitten and a bunny can grow up to be good friends. Be sure to supervise their time together, though - even if your kitten and rabbit are buddies, kittys can get rough when they play!

Answer 5

My kittens got along fine with the pair of domestic rabbits my daughter gave me. All animals can get along if raised together from birth. There's a pet show on Sat. where the guy has a menagerie of animals getting along great while in front of the cameras. I would not leave them alone unsupervised if the any of the carnivorous animals were hungry or had previously hunted and killed.

Answer 6

First, clip your kittens nails so he is less likely to injury the bunny. It would also be helpful to romp the kitten before each play session with the bunny so he is a little tired when introduced to the bunny.

Then begin very closely supervised introductions. Feed them next to each other. Place the kittens bed next to the bunnies cage. Praise the kitten for gentle behaviour with the bunny. Remove him from play anytime he starts to get rough.

Keep your sessions quite, gentle, and short, so as not to stress the bunny. Increase your time with each successful session. With patience you can have success!

Answer 7

Cats and Rabbits are natural enemies. Normally a Cat would kill a Rabbit. But if you have them grow up together (under your supervision at first) maybe they could learn to be friends.

Answer 8

I would try it under close supervision. If the kitten is young enough, they may learn to tolerate each other, or better, become buddies.

Answer 9

Cats and bunnys can get along.I think they need to get to now eachover.

Answer 10

Well as long as they don't get rough its okay!:D