Keeping a rabbit alone?

[Sadmum987]

A few years ago we bought a rabbit, a boy who was desperate for constant attention. So we had him neutered and got a spayed female from a rescue. Daughter lost interest as they sadly seem to often do but they had each other, loads of space and I do the feeding etc so they were happy enough. The girl dislikes being handled anyway.
Today the original bunny has died. He was ok yesterday so it's only very recent.
I don't want to get another one as then we could keep going forever. However I do try and take care of our pets very correctly. Is it cruel to keep her alone? What would you do???

[Nasreen]

It's tricky isn't it Sadmum. The more I read up on rabbits, the more I see that they should be kept in pairs at least. Maybe see what the rescue centre advises? Also keep an eye on her behavior. If she becomes grumpy and lonely, then you might want to consider getting another?
We are in a similar situation, except we bought a single male a year ago. Up until now, I haven't considered neutering, but in also worried he's lonely ( even though he lives indoors with the family).

Does your bun live indoors? If she gets plenty of attention, then you might be okay. If she doesn't like being handled then getting another might be the best option, as at least she gets to live with another bunny.

Best of luck! Never easy with pets is it? I'm scared of out bun being neutered !

[WhoWants2Know]

Has she been neutered as well? Having had rabbits in the past, I definitely found the females tetchy before spaying. A couple days after the op, there can be a big personality change.

It would be cruel to keep her alone unless you spend plenty of time bonding with her. Usually when one member of a bonded pair dies, the other begins to seek companionship and you can get her used to being handled. (If you pick her up and flip her on to her back so you can hold her like a baby, that has a hypnotising effect and helps them relax). Hand feeding is a good idea too.

[c4bbage]

Is the rabbit old? It could stress her out introducing a young rabbit. Maybe call a local shelter and see if theres any rabbits of a similar age available for adoption? Introducing them to each other needs to be done slowly but rabbits do get lonely by themselves

[Sadmum987]

Sorry, I forgot I even posted this! Thanks for the replies. Rabbit lady is neutered yes, she came from a rescue where they are all done before homing. I had no idea how old she was but they looked her up for me and she's 5.5. She now has a new buddy called Jon which amuses me more than it probably should and they are relatively tolerant of each other! It's not love yet, but they no longer scrap ;)