Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to steal my housemate's rabbit?

76 replies

igetmorelovefromthecat · 03/06/2012 11:05

No...not that kind of rabbit...get your mind out of the gutter!

Serious question. My housemate has a rex rabbit, that is supposed to belong to her 7 year old daughter. The daughter doesn't give a shit about it and maybe gets it out/cleans it out every month or two. It doesn't even have a bowl for its food and just gets handfuls of rabbit food chucked in its dirty straw every 2 or 3 days. It doesn't have a proper hutch, it sits in a tiny little handmade hutch which is about 18 inches long, in a dark shed, all the time. It really upsets me that the poor thing lives like this and I have even gone as far as telling my housemate that either she sorts the poor bugger out or I will take it to the RSPCA. After I had that conversation with her she got her dippy mate to make a handmade run for it, which is crap and there's no way the hutch could actually fit onto it, so the rabbit doesn't actually use it.

My housemate has now kind of moved into her boyfriend's caravan in a field a few miles away and last time I saw her she told me she was going to pick the rabbit up today and take it up to the field and try and get the run sorted for it. But even if she does that as soon as the weather changes it will be back to living in its shitty little box all winter.

Now, a good friend of mine who is an animal lover has offered to have the rabbit. She has a big hutch and run, a secure garden that the rabbit will be able to run around in, a two year old who adores rabbits and is desperate for one, and my friend has said she will get another rabbit to keep it company so it has a friend.

So, I guess it's obvious where the rabbit would be better off, but the question is, do I ask my housemate if my friend can have the rabbit (I am pretty sure she will say no, as her daughter will kick off and when she kicks off she gets what she wants to keep her quiet). Or just take the rabbit and deal with the wrath of my housemate when she finds out?

OP posts:
GrahamTribe · 03/06/2012 11:36

My estranged stepsister caged her terrier puppy for 23.5 hours as the dog "wouldn't settle down when let out and got dirt on the cream carpets and cream sofas". But, the bitch (estranged stepsister, not the pup) wouldn't let the dog be rehomed to a rescue because her PFB princess daughter would be upset that she couldn't pick the pup up and make it do cartwheels during its half hour a day release from its crate. Angry

Circumstances caused the pup to be brought to my house with SS and left there when she stormed off in a temper. She never saw him again. Wink

The pup is doing fine, rehomed to a lovely (homechecked by a rescue) terrier experienced family, living on a smallholding with canine friends, free to run about the house as he pleases. I have no regrets whatsoever. I did the right thing.

Original poster
igetmorelovefromthecat · 03/06/2012 11:40

Good for you GrahamTribe, I know I will feel a lot better for doing the right thing by the rabbit. I guess I am just not a confrontational kind of person and would rather do it in a way that means that it's not going to result in a huge battle between me and my housemate.

OP posts:
GrahamTribe · 03/06/2012 11:44

Maybe you'll have to accept that there will be words, iget. It would be unfortunate but far better than the alternative of letting the ex housemate take the poor thing to another shitty environment to neglect him where you can't even keep an eye on him?

The key is that she's an ex housemate, she doesn't live with you any more, you don't have to take any crap from her.

CremeEggThief · 03/06/2012 12:04

This really is heart breaking. Just read your OP back. You have to put that poor rabbit first for once in its life.

Original poster
igetmorelovefromthecat · 03/06/2012 12:07

OK...I am ready! Operation rabbit rescue here I come!

OP posts:
CremeEggThief · 03/06/2012 12:12

Yay! Good luck!

RabbitsMakeBrownEggs · 03/06/2012 12:27

That is awful, awful conditions to keep a rabbit in. Is it on it's own too? Unneutered? Because it is also cruel to expect them to live without company, and they can suffered from all sorts of illnesses if they aren't neutered, especially female rabbits.

My rabbits are kept inside in cages, but they are allowed to free roam a lot of the time and I am working towards being able to take the cage off and leave the bases for them so they can be free ranging. I have to clean them out every week or they stink, and before I found the right products this was every three days because rabbit urine is very smelly.

They should be fed a diet of pellets, hay and fresh, and just chucking handfuls of stuff into dirty hay sounds disgusting. I give my rabbits inventive food puzzles to work out, like stuffing their play tunnel with hay interspersed with their favourite treat foods, little bit of banana/raisins/strawberries, or putting things in a mini kong for them to chuck about and find, or burying under hay to encourage them to dig.

They should get plenty of interaction, I play with mine every day, but they aren't really child friendly pets, they don't like being picked up so much and can be a bit jumpy around my kids.

I would take the rabbit and run, making sure it was put somewhere where it wasn't going to be neglected.

DanyTargaryen · 03/06/2012 12:31

I agree with everyone saying take it and say it ran off.

Poor thing.

alistron1 · 03/06/2012 12:33

I have a house rabbit and the conditions you describe are cruel. My rabbit is in his hutch in the hall when we are out. On sunny days he goes in the garden and when we are in he has the run of the house. Rabbits are very intelligent and social creatures who need a lot of stimulation. Our rabbits hutch is cleaned out, and fresh hay given, every day. Tbh I'd be calling the RSPCA.

lovebunny · 03/06/2012 12:55

alistron, keeping your bunny on his own is cruel, too. he needs a rabbit friend.

RubyFakeNails · 03/06/2012 12:58

I would take it but I think the interest of your 2 year old is a bit irrelevant also I would be worried that the daughter would demand a replacement and then another rabbit would be suffering.

I think asking to borrow it is the best idea. Say you will take her DD to visit it if she wants.

I would also consider the RSPCA anonymously as whatever happens this can't go on.

Birdsgottafly · 03/06/2012 13:15

Give the rabbt away today, if you can, she obviously is blind to animal cruelty and suffering.

It is a shame that you cannot tell her that it died, to try to at least make her think twice about getting another one.

Personally i would have had to have acted by now and i happily shoot and eat wild rabbits, but i hate the deliberate mistreatment of animals.

RabbitsMakeBrownEggs · 03/06/2012 14:17

Yeah, they need fresh hay every day. And mine are litter trained and get their litter trays emptied mid-week, with a full clean out once a week.

NadiaWadia · 03/06/2012 14:40

Igetmorelove, you are absolutely doing the right thing, good for you and mission rabbit rescue! And really your housemate's DD needs to learn that pet animals are not toys, but living beings whose needs should be considered. Still you can't blame her if she's only 7, she is just reflecting her DM's attitude.

On another point though, you mentioned your other friend who asked to borrow the rabbit had 'a big hutch and a lonely guinea pig'. Did you know that ofiicial advice now is that rabbits and guineas should not be housed together as guinea pig can often be bullied by rabbits, who are of course usually much bigger and can have powerful kicks. Guinea pigs have had broken bones from this, and they are generally more fragile.

I didn't use to know this, and a few years ago had a gp and rabbit in one hutch for my DD. Sadly the gp did get bullied and I had to buy a separate hutch in the end. Just thought it was worth mentioning - could your other friend get more guineas instead? Neutering is always a possibility to avoid the obvious! Two unrelated male guineas will often fight, though.

alistron1 · 03/06/2012 14:57

At the moment lovebunny he's running around the house with his best friend... the cat. Rabbits are perfectly happy if they are interacting with humans/other pets. My Percy is the happiest, most chilled out bunny in the world. I have thought about bonding him, but I dunno how he'd react to another bun on his manor.

Toughasoldboots · 03/06/2012 15:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

quirrelquarrel · 03/06/2012 15:04

YES do it!

God the poor, poor creature. I feel like kicking doors in when I hear about people not treating animals with love and care, especially little ones, and not spending time with them. Your friend sounds lovely and the rabbit will hopefully get used to things being clean and all the space and everything so it can enjoy it all.

quirrelquarrel · 03/06/2012 15:06

Alistron- I love your posts about your house rabbit.

DamnBamboo · 03/06/2012 15:07

The rabbit should not be left under those conditions.
Either take it, or tell your friend you will take it and rehome it.
If she doesn't let you (assuming you do the latter) then you need to be prepared to lose your friendship over this and report her to the RSPCA.

alistron1 · 03/06/2012 15:13

Thanks quirrel ;) Percy is lovely, and seeing him and the kitten (well cat!) playing together/lying down together is fab!! The other week when the cat got neutered Percy very lovingly licked his deflated pom poms!! However rabbits are hard work and because they are mon vocal you have to learn a whole new way of communicating to understand them. Having said that though there is nothing nicer than a giant rabbit sitting on your knee demanding a nose rub.

Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 03/06/2012 15:24

Take the rabbit straight to your friends house and never look back. That's horrendous living conditions :(

quirrelquarrel · 03/06/2012 15:34

Aw! how adorable. Did you get them at the same time, do you think that makes a difference?
I've just been curled up with the guineas stretching out and licking any available bit of my hands....gorgeous little piggies they are. Two males and we got them a couple of months apart, but they've never fought (apart from playing tug of war and jumping on each other, but I'm not sure that isn't due to something else...haha).

alistron1 · 03/06/2012 15:50

We got Percy in July last year, he was 8 weeks old. We had a v.old cat (Boy) and they got along pretty well. In September Boy died, and two days later DP found Tiger on the playground at his school. Tiger was only 4 weeks old bless him, so he's grown up with Percy. I've never had piggies, they look so cute!!

Original poster
igetmorelovefromthecat · 03/06/2012 16:00

NadiaWadia - I didn't say anything about a lonely guinea pig! My friend has an empty hutch at the moment but if she takes on this rabbit she will get it another rabbit as a friend.

I have been trying to get in touch with my housemate all day to give her a last chance to sort it out, or spin some yarn about my friend really wanting a rex rabbit blah blah blah. But as she has been ignoring my calls all day I have decided that I am just going to take the rabbit over to my friend's place and when I see my housemate I will tell her that I have taken the rabbit to someone who will look after it, as I couldn't bear to see the poor thing suffering another day, and if she really wants it back she needs to get it a decent hutch (which she won't because she is too tight), and have a strong word with her DD about looking after animals.

Just about to load up the car now.

OP posts:
NadiaWadia · 03/06/2012 16:03

'A few months ago a friend who had a lonely guinea pig and a nice big hutch and run asked if she could borrow the rabbit and my housemate said no.'