How do I keep my rabbit healthy? This is especially true for rabbits. Dr. Wilkinson points out how pet rabbits are especially at risk in hot weather. Cats' brains take up 0.9 percent of their total body mass, compared to … What makes rabbits better pets than cats? Dogs make loyal pets for families that invest the … 6 Things to Know About Rabbits. Rabbits groom themselves, but they also love a gentle brushing. They certainly make your house less messed up compared to cats. Much of the rest you can teach to a horse or rabbit. Like cats, they are smart and can be litterbox trained. Most cats and rabbits live together peacefully and sometimes even become friends. Experience Level: Beginner Size: Rabbit size depends on the breed, but averages between 2-10 pounds Lifespan: Rabbits live for 6-13 years on average Sleeping Patterns: Rabbits are diurnal and active during the day Social Life: Rabbits like to play. 80% of a rabbit's diet should be hay which is relatively cheap compared to cat food or rabbit pellets. Don’t believe me? If you’re renting the smallest room known to man … Cats notoriously hate participating in research studies, making it hard for scientists to come up with an definitive facts about their intelligence. In terms of size, the brain of the cat accounts for approximately 0.9 percent of its body mass, compared to about 2 percent in an average human and about 1.2 percent in an average dog. And long-time rabbit owners claim that domestic rabbits are, in their own way, every bit as smart as cats and dogs. Cottontail rabbits, pros at life on the streets, only live for about 1-3 years. ... At that point, Bunny usually gets compared to a cat or a dog. Cats and dogs are SO domesticated. Environmental impact reports have indicated that a reduced number of feral cats such as their eradication in areas with wild rabbits always lead to a shoot in wild bun population that has a devastating effect on vegetation. The quickest cat reached their destination in under 5 hours and all of the others made it back within 24 hours. However, guinea pigs go toe to toe with them. Rabbits and cats can be kept together, but you’ll need to secure the rabbit at first and watch any interaction they have to make it work. P.S. One of the key differences between cats and rabbits is that cats are by nature solitary animals and rabbits are social creatures. Their sense of smell exceeds that of a human. Single cells were also recorded from primary visual cortex of cat to permit a comparison of visual cortical organization in cats and rabbits. They could be attacked by cats (both domestic and wild), dogs, wolves, and birds of prey such as hawks and falcons. The study: Ben Vermaercke and his colleagues at KU Leuven gave two cognitive-learning tasks to lab rats and students. And he’s won them over. Same applies to a lesser extent to radius and ulna (forearm), but they might have been removed. Are rabbits smart? They sure are. They find food as far as half a mile from their burrow. Bunny Logic 101 – Rabbits are Smart! The free-range house rabbit (litter box trained and never caged, living in a large, bunny-proofed area) who joined our family via adoption, has taught me a LOT. Like to be pet; Cages are easy to clean; Need little supervision; Gets along well with other pets; When you want a break, you put them in a cage and lock them up. With proper care, rabbits can live 10-12 years. On this ranking, they were probably a bit smarter than rabbits and not quite as smart as cats and dogs. If someone wants a rabbit and is only familiar with those pet animals, then they would have to learn a lot about caring for this species and the behaviour of rabbits. Bunnies are smart, just in different ways from cats and dogs. Cats' brains are very similar to humans' brains in a lot of ways. A rabbit's teeth never stop growing. Rabbits are curious, smart, silly, sometimes stubborn (in the *most* adorable way any creature can be) and they want to feel safe. It is a mathematically sophisticated comparison of the actual brain weight of an animal compared to … Smart Bunny? This video is about cats and rabbits how to help them get along. Gnawing on hay helps keep them healthy. Let’s run a comparison: Pros of rabbits as pets. Laminar organization of receptive field types was observed in rabbits which was similar in most respects to that described in the cat. The brain of the domesticated cat is about five centimetres (2.0 in) long, and weighs 25–30 g (0.88–1.06 oz). The service was discontinued as pigeons were quicker, but we bet they didn’t look nearly as cute! Rabbits … Even raccoons attack rabbits. They can leap, unaided, far above their own ears. Guinea pigs have a better memory than rabbits as rabbits short-term memory only lasts for a few minutes guinea pig’s memory lasts very long. They are often compared to guinea pigs but they may be as similar, in care and behaviour, to guinea pigs as they are to cats. They can live in the house or the garden. Rabbits have their own set of gifts. They can be as playful and silly as puppies or kittens, as independent and fascinating as cats, or as loyal and openly affectionate as dogs. Therefore, this means that these felines prey on wild rabbits and this will include eating them or their young ones. I have always been amazed at the odd things that arise in the course of my association with rabbits during the thirty-three years that I have practiced veterinary medicine. If you are feeling hesitant to bring rabbits to home as a pet, then it only depends on which one you prefer most. By Bunny Approved August 6, 2013. They can sprint faster than we can. I have a pet rabbit, (I've always had dogs, cats, birds before that), and to me, rabbits are super smart about survival. Rabbits have strikingly distinctive personalities. Pros of cats as pets. unlike dogs, rabbits; don't fetch, and they don't track/hunt. A rabbit is a smart, intelligent animal and requires less space than cats. Rabbits and guinea pigs are increasingly popular pets in the UK, yet little is known about their common ailments, or how these relate to what appears in the published literature. A cat's femora are straight, whereas a rabbit's is more or less bent, especially pronounced in older animals. Rabbits can bond with their keepers: I know you won’t believe that unless you get a pet rabbit of your … Because of this, when the rabbit becomes comfortable in his home environment, he will often do more to protect himself and his position in the home's social heirarchy, which can mean challenging the cat if she tries to stalk or attack. It’s a long-term commitment so please do your homework and make sure you and your existing pets are ready, willing, and able to provide a loving, safe home for a rabbit. Rabbits are, in fact, quite intelligent creatures able to memorize, solve problems, and react to cues. Cats are generally low-maintenance and independent, but may not be suitable for some families or children. Each rabbit has a distinct personality. So how intelligent are cats? Though the brain of a cat is comparatively smaller than that of other species, relative brain size isn’t always the best indicator of intelligence. Firearm and ammunition reviews, archery coverage and features stories from the staff of American Hunter, an Official Journal of the National Rifle Association. Rabbits do have more neurons in than their brains than guinea pigs do. Dr. Baum’s articles on pet care: And you thought cats were weird! Or both. Domesticated rabbits are used to having rabbit food and timothy hay provided for them, and may not be able to find food on their own. Anything you can train a horse to do you can train a rabbit to do. De-sexing - it is highly recommended that rabbits are neutered or spayed, both for health and behavioural reasons. One thing that most people … The aim of this study was to characterise the common conditions of rabbits and guinea pigs, and to compare these with the topics found in the published literature. Take a look at these surprising bunny facts, and how rabbits share some intricate physiology with cats. The brain Brain size. However, this comparison is made more complicated by the fact that the velociraptor's brains appear to be relatively primitive, despite their large size, and they may have instead had highly developed senses with not much thinking power. I normally compare rabbits to horses for trainability and smarts. This should have made them smarter and intelligent than guinea pigs. People who haven't lived with rabbits often ask those who do if rabbits make "good pets," and if so, if they are more like dogs or cats. Pretty smart actually! Outdoor rabbits face many dangers from predators. Dogs are smarter than cats and their advantage is increasing. Can be trained to do their business in a litter pan. Depending on how you measure intelligence they may or may not be smarter than cats, most animal IQ tests involve learning tricks, on those tests rats score higher that cats, but lots of people say those tests aren't accurate measures of cat intelligence. How are Rabbits Different from Cats & Dogs? 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