Inevitably, these characters have to be there, and they have to serve certain roles in the story. Alice has to be the protagonist. The White Rabbit has to be the catalyst that draws her out of her normal life and into Wonderland. The Cheshire Cat has to be the guide that gets her here and there, without ever really telling her where she's going.
My issue is that this setting really doesn't have room in it for anthropomorphic animals. So we have to concentrate more on the function of these roles than the form. What does the Cat need to be able to do?
My cat must be able to come and go at will, and lead Alice where she needs to go. His presence needs to be ephemeral, fleeting. Like his namesake, he should probably never speak clearly.
The more I think on it, the less I need the Rabbit to be a character. I'm beginning to get an idea in my head, another 'what-if' scenario.
What if the Cheshire Cat 'dies' early in the novel, before Alice comes on to the scene. What if he hides his consciousness in a specially prepared white rabbit? What if that rabbit is then given to Alice as a birthday present? At that point, the rabbit becomes the cat's tool and vehicle, a way to manipulate Alice at the onset, and something for Alice to protect as the story progresses.
There needs to be communication, and a plot. So... the Red Queen wants the Cat, or something that the Cat knows. She gets the Cat's body, but his mind is gone already, in the Rabbit. Alice gets the Rabbit, without knowing what it is. Shortly thereafter, the Queen discovers where the Cat's mind has gone, and goes after Alice, sending her fleeing into the underworld. And probably some time in that last section is when the Cat decides to start talking to Alice, probably through some sort of technological interface.
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