I’m not sure that wearing perfume and body sprays harms your rabbits….they may find a particular fragrance offensive but it’s not harmful.

I like Dr. Bronner’s Lavender Soap. It’s liquid, pure Castille soap (though it may come in bars, too). Leaves a *very* light lavender fragrance behind–I mean really light. It’s never offended any of my buns. And I’m with Sarita–as long as they aren’t licking still wet perfume or body spray off of you, I don’t think it’ll cause them any harm (other than getting you a few foot-flicks for smelling “funny”).

I don’t think bunnies have as sensitive a respiratory system as certain other animals (perfume is harmful to parrots, but only animal I know that it can harm). But, my cousin used to take fresh roses from the garden and make her own perfume from it, 100% natural and 100% safe – just water and rose petals, you can find plenty of recipes for it online. You can do that with any flower you like the scent of as well, was used in the olden days to keep ladies smelling fresh before we had so many chemical scents. You can also create a mixture of scents from essential oils, which are also natural and safe, you can buy them from pharmacies, just mix them in something like Jojoba oil (it’s a wax actually and great for the skin, even oily skin won’t break out from it) and use it on your skin to give it a light scent. Or, look up body spray recipes, you can even make citrus ones at home. I add lavender oils to my bath water when I take a bath as well sometimes.

Besides the bird being sensitive to it, the store bought chemically made perfumes give me awful headaches. So, I mainly just use the home made stuff. A lot cheaper than a good quality perfume too, since those essential oil bottles last a looong time.

I would imagine it could be harmful only if you spray it directly on them or in the general area were they would be but most likely you aren’t spraying it on them or near them…but just wearing it isn’t going to be harmful. You might also consider wearing scented body lotions or creams if you are concerned.

Probably you read how strong smells can harm a rabbits kidney/liver system -they are sensitive to strong smells caused by organic hydrocarbons (so like being on aromatic cedar chips or painting in the next room etc). A little body spray wouldn’t be an issue But if you start now, you may notice the rabbits take issue with the new smelly version of mom-might take some getting used to

And I have to say-aww Poop-I am allergic to perfume and was hoping this was a thread about a product that was an alternative that I could use heheh

I think some smells might offend them, but I don’t think they are that harmful unless you spray it on them or in their area. Mine isn’t really bothered, actually there is one perfume I wear (clinique happy) and when I put it on he comes over to sniff where I sprayed it and chin me, lol! Also, once I dyed my hair with LUSH henna and its heavily scented with rosemary, etc, I think he loved it, he was all over me and sat on the back of the couch sniffing my head and putting his face in my hair.

Dr. Bronner’s is also better for the environment

Posted By bunnyfriend on 02/28/2012 10:45 PM

Dr. Bronner’s is also better for the environment

And now I have an urge to go find the Peppermint or Rose versions to see if they also meet with bunny approval.    I do miss the long rant on the label, though.  

i find so long as i actually spray it in another room none of my pets seem to mind. Have you tried solid perfumes that are made from essential oils? I also like rosewater spray, it’s very refreshing as well

I wear body spray or scented lotions from “Bath and Body” and my buns don’t seem to mind the smell. When I’m misting on the body spray, I always spray areas where my bunnies won’t come into much contact. I spray the back of my neck, tops of my arms. Not my front neck area, because I don’t want my buns to get all smelly when I pick them up.

Seconded on the essential oils, if you want something more “natural”. However, this won’t necessarily mean that it’s better for your bunny…like K&K said, even the chemicals in natural substances can be harmful to a bunny’s respiratory system in concentrated doses.