To adopt a rabbit when short of money?

[chocolateroses]

So we are a stable household, married with two steady incomes. 2 young DC who don't go without and a nice house. We are always careful with money but make sure we have enough to cover all costs each month. After the mortgage and food shops can't afford many luxuries - no holidays for us etc.

My eldest DC (who is 5) is desperate to get a rabbit.

I am looking at re homing two rabbits from the RSPCA, but I'm worried about the cost. I assume I would need to pay for:

• hutch and run (these look expensive!)
• some kind of indoor cage?

-hay and food

• some kind of monthly vet insurance

• costs to buy the rabbit?

Do the RSPCA charge you? I would love to donate, but after buying the essentials above we'd be skint luxury wise for a couple of months.

I can't imagine rabbits are that expensive to keep? Unless I'm missing something?

I can't help but feel that us adopting a rabbit (who would be deeply loved and cared for) but being a bit skint to start and unable to make a reasonable donation would still be a bette option than a rabbit staying in the RSPCA?

Rabbits are expensive to keep. Food, hay, they need vaccinations, vet treatment can be very expensive (if you can find a vet to treat them) and as already previously pointed out they also bite, scratch, and generally hate being picked up.

If you don't want a rabbit then do not get one. Expecting a five year old to be responsible for a pet will not work.

My friend has a very beautiful looking indoor rabbit that has free roam of the house and garden. It is only put in a cage when they are out. It is a consummate arsehole who is very territorial and leapt at me when I apparently sat in its favourite part of the sofa.

Another voice to the get a guinea pig crew. They are essentially rabbits with short ears and love to play and be handled if they are used to it.
If you insist on getting a rabbit then they need lots and lots of space permenant access to an outside run is best they aren’t the sort of animal you can leave in a cage all day and let out for 10 mins for a bit of petting.

I'd love to get one for her but.... I really don't think I want one
There’s your answer I’m afraid. At 5 years old it’s ultimately going to be your pet if you won’t love it and enjoy it you’re not going to be able to look after it.

Op, I say this kindly but please only get the rabbits if you are prepared to look after them yourself. I don’t just mean feed and clean them out but groom them, pet them, spend time with them. It’s not just the cost but the time you need to be prepared to give. Please don’t get them for them to sit in a hutch in the garden, largely ignored - that would be cruel.

We got guinea pigs as family pets. DC lost interest after 5 minutes as I knew they would, but as they live indoors with us and are pretty much just mine really, they get plenty of time, attention and love.

Seriously just don't do it.

DS is 12 and egged on by DH was desperate for a dog. He would walk Ddof, cuddle him, play with him rather than on the X box. Fast forward 9 months and we have a small pit pony of a dog that DS has to be bribed to walk.Thankfully DH is the primary owner so I only have to do loads when he's not around then feel terribly resentful as DS is nowhere to be found when DDog wants out in the garden and letting back for the 98th time.

can you volunteer to spend time with animals or look after your neighbours when they go in holiday- believe me they will be delighted. Or we had gerbils before the dog - again DS showed little interest but they were quite cute, ate the inside of toilet rolls and outside leaves of lettuces and on,y needed their bedding changed once every 1-2 weeks.

My 5 year old is desperate for a unicorn. She wants her party unicorn themed. Everything is unicorn themed; toys, biscuits, accessories.

She won't be getting one for obvious reasons.

But the point is the same - they all have obsessions. They can't all have what they want.

To add to another post re: teeth / vets. Some Insurances won't cover teeth and they can need doing a lot.

Mine didn't cover dietary requirements. So I had to pay out £490 At the vets one time, she died shortly after.

Rabbits are considered unsuitable pets for young children.
Vets fees are the expense if the rabbit was poorly.

Guinea pigs are much nicer pets if you want a hutch-type animal.

There’s no greater joy than the sound of a piggy that hears a carrier bag rustling.

Never met a nice rabbit, and I like most animals.

Guinea pigs! Rabbits are terrible first pets, especially for small children.

Whereas guinea pigs are very docile, don’t mind sitting on your lap and having a stroke, and generally don’t need as much vet care.

Rabbits are a really bad pet for young children, they can literally be scared to death, and live much longer than you'd think.

Get a rat instead.

Buy a hutch and then chop it up and use it for firewood.

Hutches are not suitable for rabbits at all.

A friend of mine has adapted a shed for her two rabbits. It has various levels as well as a tunnel leading to a huge outdoor run.

Rabbits are not cheap animals. They are very expensive animals and not as social as people make them out to be

Can you commit to possibly 10 years of looking after a pet you never wanted originally? Rabbits can live a long time.

At 5, I asked my parents for every animal under the sun and was always told no. It won’t damage her long term to not get a rabbit! Just say no.

Personally I love rabbits and have owned many lovely ones. I think they’re great pets but they take up a lot of space and time. They’re not great pets for kids as previous posters have said!

We have a rescue rabbit, she’s lovely but in less than 2 years has done more damage and cost us more than our cats have in 10 years!!

She has free range of the garden and has eaten so many of my plants, chewed through hoses, poops everywhere....... She comes inside as and when she pleases and has chewed internet cables, sofas and more. She beautiful and feisty and makes us laugh and we love her but I had no idea she’d be this high maintenance when we got her.

Also where we live (not UK) there’s no pet insurance available and a nasty abscess last year ended up costing up not far off £1000 for all the treatment

Absolutely do not get a rabbit. Firstly, rabbits needs companions so you would have to get 2 not 1. Secondly, they need 60 square feet of permanently accessible space whether they are inside or outside (as per RWAF guidelines) which is expensive to set up if they can't have a whole room. Thirdly, they are extortionately expensive! I have 2 house rabbits, I've also had cats, dogs, a horse and hamsters and rabbits come second only to the horse! Both rabbits are insured but they get ill at the drop of a hat so vet care is usually emergency. Finally, they are crap pets for children! They don't like being picked up or cuddled and don't like sudden movements or loud noise.

I realise my post makes it sound like I hate rabbits, quite the opposite actually, I adore them, but they are not good children's pets at all and I am so glad my parents never relented when I spent years asking them for a pet rabbit.

If your daughter is still rabbit obsessed in 3 or 4 years time I would consider it. Then she'll have demonstrated a consistent passion and be old enough to do a lot of the care. In the intervening years she can learn about rabbits and if she gets the opportunity for hands on experience, so much the better.

YABVVS (silly) to even consider getting pets on the whim of a five year old. If YOU have a burning desire to look after and pay for unrewarding pets for many years to come then do as you wish- free country.

You will be doing it alone, the five year old will be bored or fed up with the rabbits after approximately five minutes. It’s highly likely that adopted rabbits will have been placed for adoption because they turned out not to be gorgeous, cute flopsey bunnies and were as described in the first reply.

If you do go ahead buy the kit second hand, there will be masses on gumtree or similar.

We looked after a rabbit for 2 weeks. It was a nightmare. Better of getting a gerbil!

Lots of good advice on here!
A real rabbit will only disappoint your DD at this age, it won't be anything like she imagined it would be.
I think the desire to cherish and care for a pet is a good one though. I have guinea pigs and they are cute, but still need quite a lot of looking after (feeding, cleaning, nail clipping) and the start up costs for a large hutch etc can mount up.
It is true that hamsters are either delightful or psychotic, but if you are lucky and get a nice one they are sweet, fun, really cute, not expensive to set up and don't live too long. So a good way to find out if you enjoy having pets.
Someone suggested a cat and I would agree with that. Cats are easy pets. Need feeding, fuss on their terms, let them out and you won't need litter trays. I pay £10 a month for each of mine at my vets which covers vaccinations and check ups and a discount on treatment.

My adored, cheeky chappie of a rabbit is quite a cuddler as rabbits go, but that is because he lives in a child free household. They can enjoy human interaction, but it takes a level of patience and self restraint that can’t be expected from a 5 year old. Most adults don’t seem up to the task. Honestly, I wouldn’t.

And as others have said, he is more work than my dogs! If a rabbit is going to have a happy life (which I’m assuming is a given), you have to accept some damage to your furnishings - everything has signs of nibbles around here.

Another saying dont do it.

I had both a hamster and a Guinea pig as a child and and ashamed to admit I looked after them terribly.

The novelty did wear off pretty quickly.

So I would not look after them properly then feel racked with guilt.
I still feel bad now.

It does not matter how obsessed she is.
She is only obsessed with the idea of having a rabbit and can have no concept of what it will actually be like.

I don't really get the whole 'caged' pets for others pleasure thing and think it's pretty unfair and unnecessary.

Just keep saying no gently but clearly.

It sound that like most people you will not be in a position to buy her a pony if she asked for one, no matter how obsessed she is.
I dont think you need to treat this any differently.

We've got 2 Guinea pigs. They're my pets although my adult kids love them. 4 weeks ago one of them got an ulcer on her eye, we had the choice of having it removed or putting her to sleep. She's 2.5 and healthy, they have a lifespan of 5-7 years. DH said straight away to have the eye removed. The bill was almost £500. You can't really insure a Guinea pig, so since we go them (and our hamster) we've been putting money in an account just in case. She's doing ok, now.

There's a lot to think about when you get any pet and, I'm not saying you're one of them, but a lot of people see small furries as disposable. They don't take into account that they can live for years and the kids will get bored, they don't take into account the potential of a massive vet bill and they don't take into account just how much it actually costs in time and money to feed and take care of them properly. If you really don't want a rabbit please don't get one.

If you do want a family pet, you would perhaps be better with a cat?

Still alot of commitment/cost, but if you got a rescue cat you would know more about its temperament etc