Introductions

[Lettie]

New to forum, just homed a rag doll cross 9wks old girl called Lettie

Just looking for any advice for new kittens when you have house rabbits, they live in utility room which just has a cardboard screen there for now, wondering best way to introduce them?

She has mucky ears too, do you just use warm water and cotton wool, really squeeze the water out of it first?

She has yet to go toilet, hoping to start the toilet training the right way - came from a slightly disfunctional place (they bought off breeder and couldnt keep due to allergy)

thanks

[Lyn from Australia]

Hello and welcome to CC. I can't help you in regards to introducing kittens to rabbits but as your new girl is only 9 weeks old I would try letting them all see each other first, and then I'd imagine you may be able to gauge if there is mutual interest or a bit of aggression on either side and then deal with it as you would when introducing a kitten into a home with resident cats.
I have a Sphynx boy named Jagger. Sphynxes have to have their ears cleaned at least once a week if not more. I usually do his just after he's had a warm bath and use good quality cotton buds VERY carefully and damp cotton make up removing pads (called Swisspers here in Australia).
Seeing as your new girl is only a baby and I think mucky ears would be a bit unusual, my feeling is just to give them a gentle wipe with a damp tissue and then when you take her to the vet for her shots have them checked out thoroughly, in case she needs some medication.
Best wishes for the little darling, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we'd all love to see some photos.

[Lettie]

this is Lettie

I put the bunnies and her in the bathroom, as a mutual place, and thankfully she had the perfect attitude, she approached carefully and calmly, let the bunnies smell her and it went well - will try again tomorrow!

she is off to vets Tuesday for check over

[bobbys girl]

OOHHH she is gorgeous! Hugs to you and fusses to her!
If we can have a Lurcher and a rabbit living happily together, you should have no problem. Introduce them slowly with full supervision, they should be fine.

[claire_lee]

Maybe not quite the same as rabbits but ours lived quite happily with chickens for a couple of years - the cats gave the chookies a wide berth and the chickens reciprocated!

IF you're going to the vet on Tuesday they will likely check ears but in case they don't it sounds like it could be earmites which can take some time to get rid of (at least they did with our adopted furry that had them. They're also not good if left - cats with shake their heads and scratch their ears because of the irritation then the ears can get infected.

Good luck

[greenkitty]

I had house rabbits and then introduced my two cats. TBH it was never an issue, Pip was kitten and just accepted them and Hector was a year old, I'll never forget the look on his face when he met them for the first time!!! The cats seemed bemused by the rabbits and bunnies were curious about the cats. When I adopted Hector I asked the rescue for a placid cat that wasn't much of a hunter and I was so lucky that he turned out to be a very gentle boy, and there was never any issues. TBH my bunnies were not far off the size of the cats so I don't think the cats ever viewed them as pray and if anything I would say the rabbits wore the trousers!! I also never left them alone together just to be safe!

[Minnies_Mum]

Flubble!!!! That is one gorjuss kitty.

Minnie is very well behaved around the guinea pigs. She likes to watch them. When she first arrived, I let her sniff the biggest one - Sylvia. She gave Sylvia a thorough sniffing over and then tried to wash her..... And I wish you could have seen the expression on Sylvia's face.


I have a baby piggy, Dilly Chops, who is now rather larger than a young rat (and Minnie thinks that would be a bit ambitious). But when I first got Dilly, I managed to shut Minnie in the front room with her (I came home late, put the food down and shut the door behind me without thinking). Next morning, I had a hungry cat with a very full bladder, but not so much as a paw mark on any of the guineas.

So I think if a 3 year old cat can contain herself, your little love munch will probably manage.

Samantha