Conference misery::feline_v1

	Deb-

	I don't want to get in the middle of a hubby/wife 'discussion'
	espicially when it pertains to kitties....but, my friend has a
	house bunny and it is working out very well.  I could tell you
	stories about the way she acts with it and all but people
	think I am strange/do goofy things w/ my animals too!

	they have a walk out basement with a large window.  They put the 
	hutch there so bunny can look out @ the world.  When they are home, 
	bunny goes upstairs, free to do whatever, otherwise she is in
    	her hutch.  She is always sitting
	in her lap, like a kitty.  [ She grew up w/ kitties, and her
	last one passed away from old age a month or two ago - and 
	her hubby is deathly allergic to kitties].  Bunny poops
	on the carpet, however Ellen thought this was because she was
	nervous in the new surroundings, and has pratcially stopped
	going outside the cage.  Clean up is very easy with the bunny 
	dedicated dust buster.  I think she is going to try to litter box
	train her.  The small animal/pet notesfile might be a good place
	to find (IOALOT::SMALL_ANIMALS) out more info, infact I told
	her I'd look for box training tips, if any ;^)  {the things we
	do for friends...}

	Since hubby is allergic to kitty, they arn't having any, and
	bunny is a non allergenic substitute for one, So I can't say 
	how they would actin existance together.   I have friends
     	who have birds and kitties existing in the same house, so 
    	I guess it is a matter of training.

	She did memtion one thing about inside/outside issue.  The drastic 
	changes in temperature can be hard on bunny (going from cool outside
	to warm inside and back out to cool outside) can make them more 
	suspectiable to illness.  You might want to talk to a bunny breeder
	about the pros and cons.  (I believer her, because it makes sense, 
	however - other will feel differently)

	Good luck with you decision...
    
    
    	Michele & Nippa (and bunny....who is on your hubby's side) 
    ;^)
    

    We have a house bunny and 8 cats. They are hysterical together.  The
    rabbit stays outside most of the time in his hutch but we bring him in
    frequently where we have a smaller cage for him.  We leave the smaller
    cage open and the rabbit is free to hop in and out as he pleases.  He
    is caged-trained in that if he needs to urinate, he hops back in his
    cage to go.  Rabbits can control urination but not the pellets.  That's
    why we have to clean up any pellets we find.
    
    As far as how the cats and rabbit get along--they get along great!! 
    Most of our cats can't figure out why he's got such long ears for a
    cat, and why he won't wrestle and roll with them.  A couple of times 
    Merlin hopped on his back in a beginning attempt to play/mate with 
    him only to be thrown off by one of Thumper's kicks.  (I never said 
    Merlin was smart. :-) )  If Thumper is mad or upset, he thumps his foot. 
    The cats just look at him in awe and amazement when he does it, because
    it's loud!  Then the cats climb in the rabbit cage and throw themselves
    on the bottom and roll around.  Blackie is particularly good at this;
    she turns into a wanton kitty when she gets into the cage.  
    
    I never had the pleasure of owning a rabbit before, and Thumper is 
    wonderful.  I never knew they have so much personality.  I was hesitant
    when we got him, but he is really a neat character.
    
    Jill

    My middle daughter and family live in Phoenix and Allison got a
    Lop-eared rabbit for Christmas. Their 6 or 7 year old cat, Max,
    thought Louie was real neat. One day, Max was sitting near the edge
    of the swimming pool when Louie, playing tag, leaped at Max.  Well,
    Max moved aside and plop goes Louie right into the pool. Fortunately,
    there was someone outside at the time to rescue Louie.  He was about
    4 months at Christmas and by the time he was about 6 months or so,
    he started getting 'horny' and keep trying to mount Max.  Needless
    to say, Max didn't think much of the idea and had to constantly
    get out of Louie's way.  Finally, it got to the point that Allison
    had to get Louie fixed. He recuperated in his cage for 2-3 days
    and now we hear all is just fine.
    
    Chuck

    
          Another vote for hubby's rabbit....my sister has 2 house-only
    rabbits and a cat. They were introduced separately over the years, they
    didn't grow up together, but boy are they are a family!  They sleep
    together and wash each other and storm around the house. It's really
    funny because I never thought of rabbits as being pets in the house
    like that, but they are generally clean except for the coco puffs.
    One of the rabbits did pee on their bed a few times when my sister
    and her husband bought their house and moved and all, but other than
    that they are good and get along great with the cat. 
          Probably the most important thing is 'get the rabbit fixed'.
    According to my sister and all her rabbit books, it's the same for
    rabbits and cats, to make a good pet, they would have to be fixed.
    Rabbits spray just like cats if they are whole. And considering how
    often rabbits get the urge, hmmm.  But other than that - they
    are fun, even with cats!
                                 Denise

    I also have a "house rabbit" and three cats.  This is a miniature
    siamese colored rabbit that we have had several years.  Rabbit (yes,
    that's his name) comes out of his cage in the evenings when we're
    around as chewing wires is a definite problem with him.  We try
    to block of the areas with the wires but many times he has started
    gnawing wires before we catch him.  He loves running the length
    of two rooms with one of the cats in particular.  They go back and
    forth, over and over again.  First, the cat chases the rabbit, then
    in the next run Rabbit will be chasing the cat.  When they're tired
    they both lay down side by side for their rest.  Rabbit also goes
    back into his cage to urinatae but doesn't hesitate to drop his
    bunny poops on the carpet but they're no problem.  I guess I have
    to vote for your husband.
                             

    A friend of mine has a rabbit and a cat.  They grew up together.
    They share the same litter box and bed and also eat together- probably
    not the same food though.  She said that they love each other. I
    have been wanting a rabbit myself, but we have a big Golden Retriever
    that might hurt it (probably not- he's such a big baby).  The truth
    of it is my husband doesn't want one.  I'm sure my 2 kitties would
    love it though!

    Re: .5
    
    Coat the wires with Tabasco sauce.  Contrary to what you might
    think, it is not sticky and it becomes colorless when it's on.
    It does have to be reapplied every so often.
    

    I haven't tried the tabasco sauce trick, but I save the tubes from
    paper towel rolls and then string them on my wires.  It works for
    me, but it isn't exactly decorative!
    
    Jo

    I bought something called Bitter Apple when I was trying to stop
    Bailey from chewing clothes.  For normal cats it probably works
    fine on wiring etc.  Bailey just made funny faces and kept trying
    to find a piece of the material that didn't have it on it.  She
    was bound an determined to chew those gloves no matter how bad it
    tasted.
    
    You can purchase Bitter Apple at most pet supply stores.  At least
    the stores here in San Jose carry it.
    
    Jan