Start from the rabbit's point of view
Every workable rule in a kitten-and-rabbit house flows from one fact: the rabbit is a prey animal, and being chased is not play for her but a life-threatening event, frightening enough to cause injury as she bolts or serious stress even when no contact is made. A kitten, meanwhile, is a small predator whose chase instinct is triggered by exactly the movement a startled rabbit makes. Neither animal is badly behaved; they are simply wired in opposite directions. So the ground rules are not about training the pair to be friends on demand — some pairs do become relaxed companions, but safety cannot be built on hoping for that outcome. The rules assume the kitten will always find the rabbit interesting and the rabbit will always need the power to leave.
Supervision, barriers and escape routes
Rule one is absolute: the two are never together unsupervised, however peaceful they have seemed, because a game can flip in a second and you cannot intervene from another room. Early meetings happen with the rabbit in her pen or behind a secure barrier and the kitten on the room side, so they can see and smell each other with no possibility of contact. The rabbit must always have a solid hide — a box or house with an entrance the kitten cannot follow her through — plus a clear escape route that does not dead-end in a corner. Free-roam time is scheduled separately, or the rabbit roams while the kitten is behind the barrier, and the rabbit's permanent housing sits where the kitten cannot sit on top of it staring down, climb inside, or reach paws through gaps.
Teaching the kitten the house manners
What the kitten can learn is how to behave around the rabbit's territory. Reward the behaviour you want to keep: when she watches the rabbit calmly, lies down near the pen, or turns away to do something else, mark it with praise and a treat, so quiet disinterest becomes her trained habit. The instant she fixates with a hard stare, stalks, pounces at the barrier, or chases when the rabbit moves, redirect her onto a toy away from the pen and end that session — repetition at low intensity is how the lesson sticks, while letting arousal build teaches the opposite. Keep sessions short and finish while both animals are still relaxed. Children need the rules in plain form: no carrying the kitten to the rabbit, no opening the pen during kitten time, and an adult fetches the grown-up if the animals ever end up loose together.
Health, stress signs and when to separate for good
Shared houses also need a hygiene rule: the kitten does not use the rabbit's hay, litter area, or grazing space as a toilet or a bed, and hands are washed between handling each animal, particularly if either is unwell. Learn the rabbit's stress signals — thumping, freezing pressed flat, refusing food, hiding far beyond her normal pattern — because a rabbit who stops eating is a veterinary concern the same day, not a wait-and-see. Likewise, a rabbit who scratches or bites at the kitten, or a kitten whose fascination is intensifying rather than mellowing as she matures, is telling you the arrangement needs more separation, and your vet can advise on both animals' welfare at a routine visit. Putting the finished house rules in KinsLe Family Sharing means a sitter, a visiting relative, or anyone else in the home follows the same supervision and barrier rules without relying on memory.