Not so much surprise that I have a pet rabbit, but lots of misconceptions. A lot of people think they’re dumb, smelly, dirty, etc. and that they can’t be indoor house pets integrated into the family.

They get a shock when I tell them that my rabbit comes when called and does tricks.

BTW – your elephant comment makes the think of the episode of the Simpsons “Bart Gets and Elephant” where he wins Stampy as a pet.

Hehehe I always get this…and then one someone chips in and says I have ‘special’ rabbits I get really teased. I don’t mind at all and I use it to educate people. MOST people I meet don’t know they can be litter trained, uncaged and that they need to be spayed and neutered….I try not to preach to those who already have rabbits and are doing it wrong but instead try to make it an ‘exciting suggestion’ to get their rabbit spayed/neutered, bring it inside, feed it veggies….I find they are more receptive that way.

But it is hilarious how shocked people are that rabbits are kept as pets…like seriously I’m a relatively new rabbit owner, but I’ve always wanted one since the day my heart broke for a rabbit, I was in a petstore and in hind sight it was a hotot, but I scooped up this baby rabbit and cuddled it and fell in love….But I had four guinea pigs, a leased horse and a dog, and my parents wouldn’t budge. It broke my heart and I needed a rabbit ever since that day Who could possibly think it’s that bizarre if they’ve ever been in a petstore before? Like I honestly think if you told people you had a fox, a snake or a degu would believe that easier! LOL

I find that around here, rabbits are a common pet but there is not much education about them. People who don’t have rabbits assume they are only for farms or outside pets. When I say I have 3 rabbits I often get “Do you live on a farm?” It’s a 3 pound pet for crying out loud, it’s not a cow!

ps. I Love the Stampy episode! “He’s taking the elephant”… BTW I’m the hugest Simpson fan you’ll ever meet in a thousand years!!!!!

i don’t get complete disbelief as much as just ignorance on the subject. i have them on my myspace, so people from work will see the pics and they mention to me random comments about them. just last week, a coworker asked about them, so i said “yeah, their names are Max and Meadow…” and she interrupts, “how can you keep a boy and girl together, don’t they have tons of babies?” my thought is: uhm. how can people keep a boy and girl cat or a boy and girl dog together? same thing, bub. my response, “they’re both altered so i don’t need to worry about that. besides pregnancy, it’s better for them health and behaviorally too.”

what i get a lot is stories about other people that they know with rabbits. they tell a laundry list of things that are obviously wrong (to us), and i have to bite my tongue from giving them a total Rabbits 101. it is a delicate balance to not sound preachy (me? never…) but still impart some kind of knowledge.

i do think it’d be cool if BB made up some BB business cards… we have them on my other forum (Grateful Dead) and it’s nice b/c i can just whip one out and hand it to a person who is interested in the subject… how awesome would that be in petstores to discreetly pass to someone who is interested in getting a bunny or is buying bunny supplies…?

I had a lot of misconceptions about rabbits too, because I’d only known the grumpy caged kind before. When I went to the animal shelter so see if there was a cat that wouldn’t upset my allergies, the staff gave me myths vs. facts sheets for rabbits. They didn’t have those for other animals!

I still get teased for having a rabbit. 🙂

The really big shock is not so much that I have bunny’s – but that they are LITTER TRAINED!

Then I tell people that Kay tugs on my pants when she wants to play & that little Winston likes to snuggle into my neck – they totally melt!

The people I talk to don’t seem surprised that I have a rabbit just surprised that they’re kept inside.  Then once they find out their inside they think that they live in those little tiny pet store cages and don’t realize that they have this huge pen/condo to live in.  They are also always surprised to hear that they interact with peolpe and that they can be litter trained,

My husband was even surprised!  When we first got Tucker he was NOT all for it.  He thought it was dumb and just gave in because I wanted one and I have always loved rabbits and my husband gives in to pretty much anything that I REALLY want.  So, then after we got Tucker and she started liking him he fell in love.  He tells everyone about how awesome she is and how he never knew rabbits could be so cool and such wonderful pets.  Drue hasn’t yet completely won him over LOL, but I think that’ll get better once Tucker and him are bonded.  Once he knows his princess Tucker is happy I think he’ll like Drue better. 

Oh yea, people think I am lucky when I say I have a bunny, they are really surprised when I say she is litter trained. When they see her/my room they go WOW big cage thing (pen and condo)

That would be so cool, I think we should make BB business cards and we could print them out and give them to other bunny owners. There should also be some for Rabbit.org

HAHAHAAAA!
We are owned by rats, too (for the last 7 years). HAHAAA! You should see people’s faces when I mention we live with rats!!! HAHAAA! Of course, I get the usual… “my cat would like to meet your rats” “you should have a snake, too” “you must have rabies” “YOU have RATS?!”
My husband and I don’t look like rat people at all. We look very conservative and way too ‘normal’ to have rats. HAHA! We even sleep with our rats! It used to bother me when people threw these hurtful comments at me… but nowadays, I just feel pity for them. They just don’t know any better.

So, it’s all relative. The second I mention we have two rabbits too, in general people say, “Yeah, the rabbits are pets but rats are a plague!”

FUNNY PEOPLE!!!

Liza, i’m sure they think that between the two choices, the rabbits are the “normal pets”… lol.

if you said, “i have a dog and a cheetah,” i doubt anyone would say, “really?! a *dog*? what type of dog?!”

I hardly ever mention that Charlie is a rabbit, I just say ‘my pet Charlie’ or ‘Charlie’ & so I was oblivious to the fact that my co-workers thought Charlie was a dog until a few weeks ago when I put a picture of Charlie & Layla on my computer desktop after Charlie’s GI stasis scare. Now they ask me all sorts of questions about them because a)They are as cute as buttons, b) They are much loved pets and c) there antics are so amusing to others that no one thinks rabbits are boring pets any more.

Beka – My bf, who never preaches…unlike me…has taken on the educating role when ever we encounter ignorance. He’s so persuasive too! I think he’s changed many anoutside bunnies life for the better with his powers of persuasion. Me, I’m too critical!

Liza – rats are awesome! They’re so smart, it’s no wonder they’re the most sucessful mammal on earth!

lol beka! 

a new co-worker of mine asked if i had pets & he was really interested when i told him about my buns & my dog.  he said until a friend of his shared stories about being a rabbit dad he had no idea how much personality they had as pets.  just wait until he hears my stories!  lol.

This is a hilarious thread! “do you live on a farm? It’s a three pound animal!! ” heheheh

It’s funny the preconceptions people have!

I must admit I sometimes play on those misconceptions!

When I first went to college in upstate New York – Syracuse – and people found out I was from Texas – they would always ask “Do you have a horse?”
“Oh yes.” I would say. “In fact my high school had a barn and corral so that we could all ride our horses to school and keep them at the barn for the day.”
They would actually believe me.

^^^that’s great!

ROTFL That’s so funny!!!

I found that people regard rabbits as barnyard animals and were surprized that my buns were indoor pets. (“You keep them IN THE HOUSE?!!!) Some people thought it was unsanitary and wouldn’t go over for dinner a second time. Just as well, probably.

Better than this little Czech town, Tamera, they think the bunny IS the dinner!

unsanitary?  really?  i guess i could see that if the bun was sitting on the table munching on their salad while they were eating their meal… but really?

i’ve been in people’s houses where the cats would walk around on the kitchen counter.  and my parent’s dogs have stood up against the counter and stolen a chunk of leftover food more than once… that, in my opinion, would be unsanitary…  but not buns hopping around on the floor.

i’ll bet any money that most of OUR homes are kept MUCH cleaner than other people’s…

Yeah I totally get that too. People think I’m some kind of crazy rabbit lady. When I explain to them that he is a lot like a cat, they are surprised. I think if people were more educated, rabbits would be a much more common pet.

Yes no kidding and cat’s dig their poop in their litter boxes (and their poop is not small hard dry poops!!) and then walk all over counter tops…Buns are waaay more sanitary!!!

Yeah, I’d WAY rather pick up little hard dried poos on the floor now and then than take a big dog for a walk and grab his big, gross poo with a baggy over my hand twice a day.

Ew, LPT and it’s warm when they do it too! Blarf.