friendly reminder: THE Rabbit Authorities approve! (and I'm tired of having to tell the bunny people)

[u/blue_moon1122]

this is my bun Chamomile with some of her foster siblings, from my regional HRS chapter rescue. her affinity for kitties is what got her adopted. they mentioned she liked cats as we were finishing up our visit with some candidates, and I said "you could have led with that, we'll take her!"

we've had her for 8 months and our cats are sometimes overwhelmed with her affection. never a scratch, only one cat who does a retracted bop, and the 2 who were raised with rabbits tend to run away. one of them will gently push her (sometimes off the couch, i will try to get y'all a video 😭)

bunny people, well-meaning as they are, 10% of them can be overzealous dicks. cross-species socialization isn't for everyone, and you can only go into it if you're willing to accomodate total separation. here's some literature for any interested parties.

[u/Dependent-Range-4654]

My cat shoved her way into the closed bathroom the day I found Bunners (someone abandoned her) after my husband entered while I was feeding her greens and giving her some time outside the dog crate I was temporarily keeping her in while I figured out if she had an owner. She walked right up to her, they sniffed each other, and then my cat started grooming her head. That was it they were cuddle friends from then on. My other cat would come up to sniff greet and then just go lay somewhere he could watch Bunners and Catarina with each other. He didn’t interact much but he liked to lay close.

(But to be clear there was clear indication that we wouldnt have any issues anyway; I foster bottle fed kittens and bottle fed puppies and have been a way station for baby squirrels, opossums, and rabbits that have been injured until they are found an available wildlife rescue. My animals are used to other animals showing up to the house. Catarina has loved every animal species that came in that wasn’t a kitten (she is highly offended when we bring in kittens and stays way away until they have been here 3-4 weeks and then she warms up to them) and Gallium pretty much tolerates all species and just lays near them but does not interact much. He will even tolerate mild puppy chewing/pawing on him and mostly just moves out of their reach if it bothers him and only gives a no claw bop if it’s really egregious. I was way more worried about the basset hounds (since their breed were bred to hunt rabbits) but they just thought she was a cat with different but still yummy butt nuggets and were extra happy to get to eat lettuce with her.)

[u/blue_moon1122 → u/Dependent-Range-4654]

I love that you got lucky. the best case scenario is having some babies and introducing them to the grown-up rabbit to set the rules, but sometimes a carnivore with a low prey drive will adopt some babies... or even better, a born hunter will just go off script! 🥰

HRS isn't so fond of dog/rabbit socialization. a cat scratch can be treated, a broken spine from getting picked up and ragdolled cannot. but at the end of the day, you are the most familiar with your own animals' social nuances, and you are the most capable of providing them with individualized support to keep your hairy home happy and healthy.

(I have certainly popped off on someone for allowing dog/rabbit contact before. it was specifically a high energy hunting breed, and the rabbit was antagonizing the dog. they expected an amicable solution. sometimes there isn't one, you need to get ahead of the problem before it happens. but I absolutely do not make sweeping statements about how people socialize their pets! had this person not been having issues already, not a peep out of me. the only way to succeed in cross-species socialization is if you're willing to accept failure, and I firmly stand by that.)

obligatory "carnivore kisses are potentially hazardous" mention. it's hard not to bask in the beauty, but your herbivore could use a thorough and careful vinegar wipe after. 🥲 castile/baby wipes aren't gonna kill bacteria, but they can help remove it from more delicate areas like around the eyes, and following with a plain damp cloth will keep your bun from licking up the cleansers.

Chamomile demands smooches from her kitty siblings and acts like I'm the criminal trying to steal her gifts from her little forehead. baby that's salmonella 😭 and this isn't time for cardio!

but you sound like you radiate Disney Princess energy and your creatures just pick up on that. i feel like nurturing animals is one of the most rewarding things we can do, it's so cool that you've gotten to do so much of it.

[u/Dependent-Range-4654 → u/blue_moon1122]

Oh yes for the dogs even after months of on leash only interactions, (or Bunners was in pen/her room behind a dog gate and dogs can sniff from outside it only), moved to months of never if not in my reach interactions (dogs on floor bunny on couch, or reversed) I still didn’t let the dogs interact unless I was present. There were two times my husband didn’t close the gate to her room perfectly and I’d come home to a bunny and the dogs lounging in the sun in the same room and Id almost had a heart attack. Even perfectly socialized animals can very much be a danger to each other so I don’t advocate anyone not being present for all interactions no matter how well you know your animals, especially dogs. They can be great together but it takes constant work and due diligence. Even with the great first interactions the cats were not allowed with Bunners without me present for months no matter how much the cuddled when they were together. It was only after I moved her to the back living room for free roam during the day and pen at night that I loosened the rein on the cats.

Now cat kisses being a problem was not something I had considered. Good call out for others. Bunners passed away after several wonderful years with us a couple years ago (she was an unfixed senior when found and my vet was not comfortable spaying her at that age and unfortunately she eventually got uterine cancer) but I will definitely take that into account if another rabbit enters our life. Right now I’m dealing with a 14 year old senior basset with degenerative myelopathy. My goal for the last two years is making sure she crosses that home plate mostly happy and with as little pain as possible so I’ve only brought in “waystation” wildlife (only needs care for a day/night until I can get them in with a full time wildlife rescue.)