Is a rabbit a good pet ? get along with very social Cats ?
Any thing that you can tell me on owning a rabbit ?
Will he be kept outdoors. If so, I guess it's ok. We had one. OMG he chewed everything and anything. Biggest mistake of my life. Don't do it, if you plan on having him as an I side pet.
We had them as kids, and they were pretty high maintenance. They can be very smelly and their cages need to be cleaned a lot. They chewed up things if they were in the house too.
Personally I would never have another one or let my kids get one. I think any pet you haven't had before should be VERY well researched. They usually tend to be a lot more then we realize as far as maintenance and behaviors.
Pros: clean, like cats, they self groom and use a litter box or specific corner of the cage.
Cons: pee/poop a LOT, chew everything (cords, wood furniture, upholstery, etc.) dig holes in carpeting, they are delicate and easily injured, especially when being handled by young children
Our rabbit is almost ten years old and lives in our home office/guest room. He's sweet and our dog and cat get along with him but he doesn't like to be picked up or held so he's not much "fun" as a companion.
If I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have gotten a rabbit. Too much maintenance.
If your children are young a guinea pig would be a lot easier for you and more fun for them.
Contact your local humane society for more information. They have a lot of information they are eager to share. They also have guidelines and restrictions about who can adopt rabbits. For example, our local humane society won't adopt out rabbits to families with children under 10. For younger kids, they recommend guinea pigs. I have not actually owned a rabbit, but I did extensive research because my boys were begging for one. We borrowed a rabbit from a friend who breeds them to do a trial run for a couple of weeks. It did not work out. The rabbit was messy, smelly and the kids quickly lost interest in her. Cleaning out the cage was a lot of work. She wasn't a particularly friendly rabbit so maybe one with a better temperament might have worked out a little better. However, still messy, smelly and a lot of work. And I'm an animal lover. I couldn't wait to return that bunny to my friend! The upside is that my boys stopped begging for a rabbit and seemed content with our dog (and now two dogs).
I had bunnys for years, loved them! My very first was more dog than rabbit.
If you have children, larger rabbits are recommended. They tend to be more mellow in nature, & can more easily withstand some of the handling that kids do.
Rabbits can be trained to be loose in the house, just like cats. They can go in a litter box, & learn tricks. It is important to "rabbit proof" your house - namely cords & other things that could be dangerous for them to chew.
Mine always stayed in a condo (large dog cage retrofitted for a rabbit with a floor & litter box & hay trough) when I was gone/sleeping, but was loose in the house when I was home to supervise.
The House Rabbit Society has great resources to look through as you consider if a bunny is right for your family.
Rabbits can do well as solitary pets (they don't always like to get along with other rabbits!), but I suggest spaying/neutering. My first bunny, I didn't think I needed to, because I had no other rabbits. But there are behavioral issues that they exhibit which are eliminated with neutering (esp males)
You can find local rabbit breeders on Craigslist, or through your 4-H organization, & the Humane Society in your area might have bunnies as well.
Happy Hopping! T.
Rabbits chew everything.
Rabbits can be litter trained, but they still poop everywhere.
Forget the rabbit and enjoy your cat.
I had a rabbit. He lived mostly in his cage, which was nice and big, but we brought him out to play. Our cats laid on his house (his cage had a big cedar house attached) and he didn't really like them. As another poster said, he was litter box trained but the poo still came out when he hopped around, so I had a little vacuum just for his room. He was a great rabbit, but they are still a lot of work.
My next door neighbors have a rabbit. She's a wonderful, sweet thing but she's very, very high maintenance and she's spoiled rotten. When they go away on vacation I rabbit-sit for them and effectively house sit.
They have a gigantic cage/crate that opens on the top for her so that she has to be lifted out of the crate. She's an escape artist and it's the only one she's never been able to escape from. It's lined daily with special types of hay that are scented and have different "treats" in them like mint, carrot, herbs, etc. She gets raisins as treats almost daily. She eats Craisins. She eats salad... I'm talking special lettuce with baby carrots and other shiznit in a freaking chew-proof bowl twice a day. In addition to that she gets rabbit kibble twice a day.
All of their furniture is chewed up. The rabbit claimed one of their chairs. It even has a special pillow on it for her. They have to keep a rabbit litter box under the chair for her.
The crate has to be cleaned of rabbit poop every other day in spite of the rabbit litter box inside it.
Water must be changed in the crate daily from a hanging water bottle. She doesn't drink from a bowl because she tips it and finds it offensive.
The crate has to have a "shelf" in it that she can climb. It also has hanging toys so she doesn't get bored. When no one is home they also have the TV on for her.
She has to be let out of the crate for play time during the times I rabbit sit before she eats. The thing is, she HATES BEING LIFTED INTO THE AIR. Rabbits hate that chizz. It makes them feel unsafe. You can't cuddle them like cats. Their nails are sharp and their teeth are effing knives. So with this cage? Yeah, gotta lift her to get her in and out of it. Every time.
She does love to play games. She's smart and she's funny. But she loves to hide and get into things, especially areas she's not allowed. They have baby gates up for the areas she can't go, like upstairs and the kitchen. They have her food and hay and magazines and other things she's not allowed to just chew the chizz out of in large plastic containers with heavy lids. Because she's a chewer and climber.
She has a preference for one of her owners than the other. She loves both, but has a clear preference. I'm very lucky she likes me, but I do bring her treats. They are MUCH higher maintenance than my cats.
My neighbor keeps rabbits but she has them in their own outdoor hutch - they don't come inside.
Rabbit manure can be dug right into the garden without aging it (cow, horse and chicken manure has to be aged before use otherwise it will burn plants).
When it's colder outside she gives them plenty of hay to snuggle into and when it's hot she freezes water bottles so they can lay alongside them and cool off.
You have to give them something tough to chew to keep their teeth worn down (they grow continuously) - and they really do love chewing power cords if you are not careful about keeping them away from the cords.
If they are raised together cats and rabbits can get along but if they weren't the cat might hunt the rabbit and the rabbit might attack the cat (they can kick and bite) - cats that are let out to roam the neighborhood will come home with dead chewed up baby rabbits (and birds and mice and insects, etc).
You want to keep male and female rabbits separated unless you want to be hip deep in rabbits - they do breed like, well - like rabbits.
Rabbits can be great pets - find out all you can about them so you can determine if they would be a good match for you - don't forget to check 4H info about raising them - but they can be a challenging pet to raise.
Rabbits are prone to abscessed teeth so you have to keep an eye on that. Male rabbits, if not neutered, can be territorial and sometimes get aggressive as adolescence. The small or dwarf breed rabbits tend to be more aggressive then the large breed rabbits, just like in dogs as we have bread them to make them small we have also make them less laid back. If you can find an adult rabbit at the animal shelter that is what I would recommend, we got our Earl there and he was the best rabbit ever! Just make sure you do your research before adopting :)
We had a drawf Rex and a California white years ago. The white was a pet that someone got bored with and "set free." He was never very friendly or sociable. The Rex was a gift from a friend who raised rabbits. She had been handled since the day she was born and loved to be held and cuddled. My daughter even trained her to walk on a leash. We didn't let them loose in the house. They each had a bunny condo built by the husband of the frined who gave me the Rex.
There are some bunny mamas on here. I don't have any currently but have the sweetest guinea pig that is super social and loves the cats and dogs. She doesn't smell...we use that fluffy bedding stuff and go through as much hay as a horse (she loves to eat lots of things).
I've had every kind of pet imaginable, almost. Cage animals are usually a lot of work. The cage needs to be cleaned constantly. Since rabbits live quite a long time, how about a rat, which usually lives about 3 years? Rats are intelligent and can be trained to do things, and in my opinion are a lot more interesting than rabbits.
I used to raise rabbits when I was younger. I have noticed that cats really love rabbits, but in a sort of dinner bell type of way, so be very leery of them if you do get a rabbit. Rabbits are also pretty difficult to train when it comes to using a litter box, and they do poo A LOT!!. If you have an outdoor hutch I would def. say yes, if not you are in for a lot of work. Just keep in mind they are outdoor animals and it is their instinct to chew, they will also dig at your carpet and flooring to sharpen their claws just like a dog.
We had one and it was he$$.
Messy, he did use the litter box, he chewed wires if he got out of site, shed like crazy.
Everytime you would put your hand in the cage to give him food he would bite. I have scars on my hands.
Daughter loved him but we didn't. His cage was inside for a long time and I just couldn't stand the constant mess. We moved the cage to a safe place outside and she would bring him inside to play with him, etc. We'd also put a secure gate outside and allow him to stay in that on the grass, etc.
We got him from a shelter.
As with all of our pets, when we take the responsibility on to get one, we take the responsibility for the pet's lifetime. This rabbit lived 8 LONG years. He did give my daughter some happiness.
I vote NO
We had one for about a year. Don't think I will do that again. He was indoors in a large cage. He was very high maintenance. Alot more than my dogs are now ! The cage had to be cleaned 2-3 times a week or it would really stink. And that meant taking it outside and washing with soap & water. Ours didn't like to be held. He shed. He chewed everything. And rabbits like electrical wires ! We had to get special covers for our TV cords and computer cords. He still got to my mom's laptop battery cord. That cost me to replace ! He was fun in that he liked to be fed lettuce, carrots, etc. But you do have to watch as there are some things that are poisonous to rabbits (like the green leaves / stems on tomatoes). I would do alot more checking into it before you make a decision on getting one.
Visit the website of the House Rabbit Society.
The answer is yes and no. My sister says her rabbits are as much work as cats, maybe more. They can be very destructive and she keeps her toddler (born after the rabbits were rescued) away from them for both their sakes. She had cats until they passed away and the cats were afraid of the rabbits.
