Savannah & house bunny – disaster??

[CatOnDoubleEspresso]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had success with having both a Savannah & bunny as indoor pets?

I did see one old thread here in which a member had a successful introduction but not sure if it worked out long-term. (Can't seem to relocate this thread now.)

When comparing with other domestic cat breeds, lots of people have successfully cohabited cats & bunnies. Of course, some cats (of any breed) do tend more towards the hunting instinct and often bring home dead birds, squirrels, rats, etc. In that case, I wouldn't want to try to introduce a bunny to such a cat.

With Savannahs, I would hesitate for the same reason I would not want to home a hunting dog breed together with a bunny (non-hunting dog breeds would be fine). The Savannah – especially the F2 which is my preference – is obviously much closer than other domestic cats to their wild roots, the Serval, who would definitely see rabbits as lunch.

So is it any more of a risk than it would be with any other breed of domestic cat?

 

[admin]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had success with having both a Savannah & bunny as indoor pets?

I did see one old thread here in which a member had a successful introduction but not sure if it worked out long-term. (Can't seem to relocate this thread now.)

When comparing with other domestic cat breeds, lots of people have successfully cohabited cats & bunnies. Of course, some cats (of any breed) do tend more towards the hunting instinct and often bring home dead birds, squirrels, rats, etc. In that case, I wouldn't want to try to introduce a bunny to such a cat.

With Savannahs, I would hesitate for the same reason I would not want to home a hunting dog breed together with a bunny (non-hunting dog breeds would be fine). The Savannah – especially the F2 which is my preference – is obviously much closer than other domestic cats to their wild roots, the Serval, who would definitely see rabbits as lunch.

So is it any more of a risk than it would be with any other breed of domestic cat?

I know there was someone on here that had a bunny and savannah, but I do not think they were together full time...my savannahs eat rabbit...I would be hesitant to have a bunny and any cat, quite honestly...

 

[CatOnDoubleEspresso]

Ah, just found the thread. I see the bunnies are quite large, which probably helps.

http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/the-big-loki-bunny-introduction.4291/

Yup, I'm definitely leaning against the idea but just thought I'd check around with everyone's thoughts here...

Edit: Just noticed you said you would be reluctant with "any cat". I have had rabbits & cats in the past. The bunny totally dominates the cat. You can find lots of YouTube vids of this, if you're curious and want a good laugh.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

When I was a child we lived on a farm, my cat was indoor/outdoor. He used to hunt rabbits and bring them home to eat...but I had a pet rabbit he would sniff out in the yard and let be when it was out. It was as if he understood the difference.

So saying that, I DO think there is a risk if you tried having a rabbit with a cat. It might start with fun and games...pouncing and stalking, but the rabbit might well react badly and their fear and reaction might inspire something worse. I can see the sense in having a large breed rabbit as it might work better, and I think they should always be supervised together. When I rehomed a retired queen into a house that had two chinchillas, despite their assurances that the caging was secure, I did tell them that they needed to be sure they were prepared to lose those pets if my cat came to live with them. A year later, they told me that indeed my cat had watched and learned how to open the cage and the chinchillas were no more. Those are a smaller animal of course..

 

[dice]

Well, I have chinchillas, that I let out occasionally, and they love to terrorize the cats. Sampson loves chasing them, Isis thinks they are big fraking rats, and she don't do rats, and Spot worries that they are cutter than her.

Sampson tries to spank them and occasionally he scores a spank or two. So far, so good. Though they are always under supervision when out of their habitat. Think with any animal, it's a matter of wait and see how they respond, and to keep an eye out.

 

[Patti]

I have to agree with Paige and Brigitte - any cat has the potential to kill something smaller than itself, even if they have cohabited for years. You just never know what may trigger the prey instinct. Now a Persian, maybe not so much - but any active breed cat I just wouldn't trust with smaller critters without close supervision.

 

[Trish Allearz]

I've had a bad experience with a big bunny and cats. I refuse to have prey animals anymore.


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[NikkiA]

I'm with Trish. We almost lost our conure to Diablo when he was just 4 months old. Our conure moved in with my Mom, as even with the steel cage and her own room, I didn't feel she was safe.
Our boys have also wreaked havoc on the fish tanks, and will absolutely go for a bunny given half a chance. Some people have had luck with birds and Savannahs (Kristen has an African Grey if my memory serves me), but I do think it is pretty dependent on the cat. Any bird would be short lived in my house with my boys, and a bunny wouldn't last long either.

 

[dice]

Hmm, think it would depend on how fast the bunny was. Birds, yeah dead in minutes or less!!!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

In most of the situations I know of in past years, bunnies and birds, everything could be great for years until one incident and everything changes. So I imagine being vigilant and never relaxing the rule about them not being left without supervision would be more successful in the long run...but hard to not slip up too...