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Cat and Rabbit

22 11:08:07

Question
I have a feline leukemia virus positive cat (I had 2 felv cats but 1 just died of cancer) who need a buddy.  The cat is very sociable and mellow although he can play hard. Since I cannot get a normal healthy cat for him, I was thinking about getting a rabbit.  The cat does not show any symptoms of leukemia and is otherwise healthy. I have a walk out basement and the cat and rabbit would live there.  They can watch the squirrels, birds, and wild rabbits that come close to the large window.  We have central heat and air conditioning and there is a gas fireplace in the basement so it won't get to cold and it never gets hot in the walkout basement.  I am planning to get a large 3 level cage for the rabbit when I am not home.  Is there a particular breed of rabbit that will do better in this situation or will a single rabbit from a shelter or rescue group do(this is preferred)?  I do spend plenty of time in the basement studying, watching tv, and other stuff. Also I play the electric guitar and drums (not too loudly) in the basement.  Can a rabbit get used to that?  Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hi Phil,

I think your efforts to get your FLV+ cat a buddy is admirable.

However, given the small amount of info you wrote, a rabbit may not be the best pet for your house.  It's not just the cat, but it's the lifestyle.  Most rabbits really do not handle that kind of noise very well.  The drums would especially be hard as the bass noise sounds like the thumps they make when there is danger, and the higher white noise of the cymbals and such will bother them.  It's really not a good combination.

Plus, if your cat and the rabbit do not get along, you're stuck with two pets that are separate and your goal of getting a friend for your cat is not met.  It would be no good for both of them.

What you may try to do, is get with your local shelter or local cat resuce groups and see if they also have any other FLV+ cats that could be friendly with another cat.  They may be able to point you to a good friend for your cat, or suggest other alternatives with other kinds of cats that need friends (older cats, disabled cats, etc.)

Hope this helps.  I hope you are successful at finding another friend for your cat.  Merry Christmas,

Lee