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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think rabbits make shit pets?

102 replies

IHateBloodyRabbits · 02/03/2015 11:19

They look nice and soft and cuddly but they really aren't. Most of them hate being picked up and cuddled. They bite and scratch and dig and chew everything.

They also cost a fortune in vet bills with the bloody neutering and vaccinations and other shit they need.

And they live for bloody 8-10 years, sometimes longer Angry

OP posts:
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6
londonrach · 02/03/2015 19:56

Have friend who got house bunny.. She loves him. Hes toilet trained and comes when called. Judging by him yabu.

GooodMythicalMorning · 02/03/2015 20:00

Our rabbit was horrible. No amount of stroking and attention made him friendly. The rats are much better for me personally.

GlitzAndGigglesx · 02/03/2015 20:04

I agree OP rabbits remind me of giant rodents which I also think make ridiculous pets

Riley2015 · 02/03/2015 20:17

I have a house rabbit and he is so lovely. He comes when you call his name and he loves being stroked. Rabbits need attention and must be handled from a young age. They will only bite and scratch if not looked after properly and just left in a hutch in the garden !

Andrewofgg · 02/03/2015 20:23

When I was a child we had neighbours who kept them. My DM always called them Mittens-to-be.

NYE2015 · 02/03/2015 21:02

I'm guessing the poster who was babysitting a housetrained rabbit perhaps didn't know they are trained as much to toilet on a certain area of the house, as they are to place their toilet on a tray. So a change of environment would confuse this hugely.

I've had all sorts of rabbits, as a child and as an adult. From my experience, it is more to do with the breed and getting good stock. Of course it's hard to tell when you're buying from a petshop with an unknown breeder.

My favourite rabbit was a special boy, and he just so happened to be the cutest little face too. He was obsessed with licking me and his little twitching whiskers were so cute! He would hop in and out of the house all summer and was never a problem. I've had some rabbits that were chewers and some that weren't. I've had some rabbits that are cuddly and some that aren't. I've had some that are aggressive toward cats and some that weren't. I've had some that growl and some that don't. I suppose it's reasonable to expect they have different personalities just like everyone else does!

I agree that failure to handle from an early age and to provide an interesting life without being cruelly cooped up is bound to bring out the best in a bunny!

whothehellknows · 02/03/2015 21:15

Another house bunny owner here. Lovely pets, but much more work than a cat-- more on a level with a puppy, what with all the chewing that goes on until you rabbit proof the house. I found that neutering improved their temperaments hugely, and they were much more friendly afterwards. And when they're happy they do a crazy leaping somersault thing that is soooo much fun to watch.

Sallyingforth · 02/03/2015 21:19

I don't know about pets but my mother used to make a great rabbit stew with dumplings. You don't seem to be able to get fresh ones now

maninawomansworld · 02/03/2015 22:11

Personally I think they make better pies than pets but each to their own!

rambunctious · 03/03/2015 02:29

Interesting reading this thread. I am thinking about getting a couple of house bunnies, but i'm worried as I also have two very boisterous DSs!
Those of you with house bunnies, do you think that it would work? I would put their hutch/cage in my enclosed balcony, which leads off my lounge. This way they would be able to remove themselves from the boys should they need to (and I would shut them in that room while I was at work, so they wouldn't be shut in a hutch, but would have space (3ft x12ft) to move around in).
What do people think?

maninawomansworld · 03/03/2015 13:15

To be fair, unless you've got a garden where they can engage in their natural behaviours I'd not have any. 'House' pets are all well and good but surely they need some access to the outdoors! If you live in a flat then most forms of pet are a bit of a no-no IMO.

kali110 · 03/03/2015 13:24

Yabu it's how you treat them.
I had one that i loved. He roamed around the house a lot and then we enclosed the garden and he had the run of the garden(though he did escape once or twice!). He would spend the days in the garden with my dad and then snuggle up on the sofa with me or under my feet.
He slept. In his hutch in the shed in the summer and when it got cold he'd be bought in the house.
He was so clever and lovable.
He bit me only once when i first got him and he was terrified where i git him from.
If you only want them to keep in a cage then no a rabbit isn't right for you.

TaliZorahVasNormandy · 03/03/2015 13:34

All our rabbits had free run of the garden all day and went into the hutches at night. If you interact with them, they will eventually interact with you.

Writerwannabe83 · 03/03/2015 15:32

I used to have a house rabbit and he was absolutely brilliant!! I used to love seeing him potter about the house of his own free will and then he'd jump on the sofa to have cuddles with me when he fancied one.

He was ace Grin

SuperFlyHigh · 03/03/2015 15:34

I had a pretty grey rabbit as a child which scratched me whenever I tried to pick it up (I was about 8) and then when we got a guinea pig (male) and put them in together it tried to mate the guinea pig (rabbit was also male) - after a couple of years we re-homed them together to another small child.

SuperFlyHigh · 03/03/2015 15:35

to those who say socialise them - how can you do that when the bloody things scratch and try to bite you?!

SuperFlyHigh · 03/03/2015 15:37

also the bloody thing hid at the back of the cage all the time. I don't think I got it as a baby but he was quite young.

honeyroar · 03/03/2015 15:40

Most pets are only as good as the people that own them. If you take a small animal, shove it in a cage in all weather, never give it much exercise and expect it to want cuddles you really should just get a stuffed toy. In the wild rabbits cover miles and move a lot. It must be torture being a child's pet rabbit..

YouAreMyRain · 03/03/2015 16:11

Boy rabbits are calmer and cuddlier than girl rabbits. Fact.

meglet · 03/03/2015 16:13

super mine didn't have a cage. The back garden was secure and she had the run of the house. I think that's why she was so loveable.

hiddenhome · 03/03/2015 16:38

Rabbits belong in pies Smile

SuperFlyHigh · 03/03/2015 16:45

honey my rabbit had a proper big run as well as a cage but when we got him of course he was in the cage. if you ever tried to handle him he kicked, bit, scratched so of course he gave up.

What is a child of 8 supposed to know about looking after rabbits apart from what eg pet books/shop (think that's where we got him from) say? bear in mind this was in 1970s. I'd had mice, a cat and dog before so we weren't unused to owning and caring for pets.

SuperFlyHigh · 03/03/2015 16:46

hidden - I know of 2 women (1 French, 1 UK) who both told me about their pet rabbits being served up for dinner by daddy. They weren't lying...

SuperFlyHigh · 03/03/2015 16:47

whothehell - see I think my rabbit would have been better neutered but don't think the vet told us that...

SuperFlyHigh · 03/03/2015 16:47

sorry WE gave up not he...

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