With all the Easter rigmarole, I found myself wondering whether owning a rabbit as a pet would be worthwhile. I like the unique companionship of dogs, but think they’re too much responsibility. This is part of the reason I’m more of a cat person, but they can be just as much a responsibility in their own right, minus the chore of being constantly taken outdoors. I’ve always liked ferrets but they only live about five years and from my experience, tend to suffer a dramatic decline in health towards the end of their lives which is painful to watch. I know the death of any pet isn’t easy, but I’ve seen a lot of ferrets go slowly and it’s heartbreakingly depressing.
So … in the light of my interest in low-maintenance pets and the arrival of spring and the Easter holiday, I’ve found myself wondering what it might be like to own a bunny. Anybody owned/own a rabbit? Are they a lot of upkeep? Can they be affectionate and/or emotive? Do they like being cuddled as so many of us would surely like to do to them? My general impression is that they sit in the corner of a cage, eat occasionally and then poop, and that’s about it. Oh yeah, they do that funny twitching thing with their noses too. In the wild, they’re essentially predator fodder, a tasty morsel to be hunted, and so they’re not exactly bright, but I’m curious nonetheless. Part of me thinks it’d be kinda cool as a single guy to own a bunny … chicks would dig it, no?
I bunny-sat recently. It was skittish, but cute when it hopped around. It liked to sit under the coffee table. Very very soft fur, but it didn’t really stay still to be petted. The owner also said it hated to be picked up, and refused to stay in laps.
Not sure how much was its nature and how much was being in a different environment, but it didn’t seem like a cuddly creature.
I’ve owned a couple and didn’t really like them as pets. They can be affectionate but don’t like being held at all, nor are they low-maintenance. Also, if mine were any indication, they don’t mix well with cats or dogs (both mine wound up being killed, unfortunately) and I was pretty disappointed with my experience as having them as pets.
We had a rabbit many years ago that had been raised with some kittens and seemed to think it was a cat. It loved to rub against your ankles, loved to sit in your lap and be petted etc.
Reading the last few posts it sounds like ours may have been unusual though.
We chose guinea pigs instead of a rabbit because to be happy rabbits really need a lot bigger space than most people are willing to devote to them. As it is, the two guinea pigs are in a 30 inch by 60 inch cage.
Almost all cages sold in pet stores are far smaller than what is required by the animals that they are intended for.
I had a rabbit like that too. We let him just hang out in the yard with the other cats and he’d even eat cat food.
I’ve had other rabbits. They’re nowhere near as affectionate as cats or dogs but properly socialized ones do like to be petted. Some people have had luck litterbox training them. Males get frisky and belligerent and should be fixed which is a lot more expensive on rabbits since it’s a rarer operation. And I’d guess their lifespan is similar to a ferrets.
All in all, I don’t think they’re any more low maintenance than a cat unless you just ignore it which would be cruel and then why have a pet anyway?
My sister has one and they seem to like it a lot. She said “cats don’t do it for me”. I could never get into a rabbit they way I get into cats. I guess that’s what makes the world go 'round.
Our family had several when I was a kid. I don’t like them. They really don’t like being picked up, which means whenever you need to do it, even if you try your best to support their feet as often as not you’re left with deep bloody scratches. And unlike a cat or dog, they all seemed rather indifferent to attempts to pay them attention.
Rabbits themselves are not really demanding, but rabbit cages require a lot of maintenance; they have pretty poor digestive systems which means they poop a lot. In the wild they often eat some of their poop to get more of the nutrients they didn’t get the first time, but typical cages have most of the poop drop into a tray, and it then becomes your problem. It’s more messy than smelly, though. You could try to litter train them instead, but rabbits don’t seem to be as smart as cats or dogs, and they can be led into misadventure this way, just like ferrets. Primarily from being accidentally stepped on, which as my brother and these people learned leads to broken legs and feet more often than accidentally troding on an adult cat.
Frankly, if I were to suggest a mostly indifferent-to-people pet with high cage maintenance and supervision requirements, I’d sooner recommend a ferret or turtle.
I have owned several over the years and their personalities varied as much as the many dogs I have had.
My last bunny who passed away two years ago loved to be handled. He loved to hide under furniture and leap out to attack your feet as you passed.
As mentioned above, they need alot of space to be truly happy, not left in a cage 24/7. All of mine were litter trained so when roaming the house there was no worry about the mess. I wouldn’t advise free reign all the time though, they like to chew and bunnies and electrical wiring don’t mix. Mine was only loose when I could supervise.
As far as maintenance, you will spend a lot of time cleaning the cage and litter pan. Litter trained or not, bunnies poop A LOT.
I love pet rabbits. I had one who was technically an FFA project in high school. Bunnies are soft and fluffy, mine liked to be held and snuggled. It didn’t live in the house though, since I didn’t have the time to try to litterbox train it or hide all of our electrical wires. I think they are good pets.
We love our bunny. He was originally intended to be hawk food, and is a retired research animal, so we really didn’t expect him to have much personality, but… boy is he cute. He litter trained almost immediately, so we keep him as a house rabbit when we’re up and about during the day and he lives in a big hutch at night. I put him out in the hawk yard during the day (hawk indoors) so he gets to play out in the grass and sun when the weather is good.
Rabbits as pets are very much about what you put into them. If you play with them often and give them a lot of attention and mental stimulation, they make very clever and affectionate pets. Left as hutch bunnies, they are mostly indifferent to handling.
Check out the House Rabbit Society for good advice on keeping happy bunnies. Cheers!
I had one about 20 years ago. I don’t remember it being terribly affectionate but it wasn’t timid either. One annoying habit it had was slamming its hind feet on the floor. It did this once at 4:00 am, terrifying my roommate who thought some weirdos from next door were trying to break in.
After that he talked a lot about how nice it would be to have some bunny fur gloves.
My sister had one when we were kids. A large white rabbit. Lucky loved to be cuddled, and would eat out of your hand, and would walk (well, hop) on a leash. She’d even nudge your hand to be petted like a dog does.
We had another bunny after Lucky died, a dwarf rabbit. But, she was just downright mean and didn’t like you to come anywhere near her. We had to feed her with gloves on because she would try to bite when you put your hand in the hutch. It was sad, we interacted as much as she would let us, but she never really became a “pet”.
I remembered I have a picture somewhere (not online) of my rabbit wearing a cat harness and a leash. Since she was a white English Lop and could walk on her ears, I had them on top of her head in a scrunchie so she wouldn’t get them dirty. My mom thought it was hilarious.
