Cat and Rabbit

My pet rabbit doesn't like hard tiles. We thought that he was reclusive at first, always promptly returning to his cage when we took him out, and never leaving his cage if we gave him the option. By coincidence, we changed his cage to a carpeted surface, and he began coming out. It took us a while before we made the connection, but eventually we did. While I was gone in Katimavik, my family completely did away with his cage and put down a section of carpet with a few boxes on it. The carpet was laid on an otherwise hard surface and so my rabbit had an area easily three or four times the size of his cage, and wouldn't roam around chewing on things, either. They even got him litter trained.

Our cat has always been scared of the rabbit. My rabbit would run up to him, and he'd dart away. At first, the cat seemed to have some interest in him, but after while, he seemed to give up.

But recently, there's been a development in their relationship. The cat became competitive, trying to mark his territory by using the rabbit's litter box, spending time on his carpet, and getting in little scuffs. Nerve-racking for me, since a rabbit is lower on the food chain than a cat, but the cat always was the one to back down, and this is basic back-and-forth when cats are becoming accustomed to one another.

Well, now the cat will go over to the rabbit, and roll on his side or his back, which is a symbol of trust for them, and he no longer tries to mark his territory. The rabbit goes up to the cat, and the cat doesn't try to run away.

How random. I gave up hope on them developing a relationship long ago. I wonder what triggered the cat's change in heart.

I wrote this blog post in bits and pieces over two days. No time for anything else.