Tonkinese cat anxiety after rabbit introduction

Introducing a rabbit into a home with a resident cat is a bigger deal than most people expect — and placing them in the same room is a lot to ask of a cat who previously had that space to herself. Tonkinese are sociable and emotionally sensitive cats, which actually makes them more prone to stress when their environment shifts in a way they can't control. Cats are also brilliant at masking anxiety, so if you're already seeing signs, it's likely been building for a little while. Can you tell me what you're noticing — is it hiding, overgrooming, changes in appetite, or something else? And is the rabbit's enclosure in a room your cat used to use freely?

That picture makes complete sense. She's lost her core territory — the living room was her anchor space — and now it smells and sounds unfamiliar. The overgrooming on the belly is a classic displacement behaviour that tells you she's been stressed for at least a few weeks, possibly longer. Before I point you to a product, one practical question: is there any possibility of moving the rabbit's hutch to a room your cat doesn't rely on as much, like a spare room or utility space? That single change would do more than any product alone. But if the living room is the only option, a diffuser placed in there can still make a meaningful difference.

Understood — then the product I'd go to here is the Feliway Classic Starter Kit with Diffuser. It releases a synthetic version of the facial pheromone cats deposit when they rub their cheeks on things — essentially a 'this place is safe' signal. Plug it in as close to where she used to sleep as possible, not next to the hutch. The aim is to restore a sense of familiarity in the part of the room that was hers, not to mask the rabbit. One diffuser covers roughly 70 square metres and runs for about 30 days. You should see some behavioural shift — returning to familiar spots, less hiding — within two to four weeks. If the overgrooming hasn't improved after a month, that's worth a vet conversation as it can become habitual even after the trigger settles.

Yes, it still works — the pheromone acts directly on your cat's nervous system rather than neutralising smells, so the rabbit's presence doesn't cancel it out. What it won't do is eliminate her awareness of the rabbit; it just lowers the baseline stress response so she's not in a constant state of alert. Over time, most cats habituate to a resident rabbit once the initial shock fades, especially if they can observe from a distance without being forced to interact. The diffuser helps create the conditions for that habituation to happen. Keep her food, water, and a litter tray in a room without the rabbit so she has at least one fully neutral retreat.

That's a solid plan. Separate resources are genuinely important — a stressed cat who feels she has to pass the rabbit to eat will stay on edge regardless of any diffuser. Give it a full month before you judge the results, and if the belly overgrooming is getting worse rather than plateau-ing, don't wait — get the vet to check it out, as skin can become sore quickly. Good luck with both of them.