Hey, I’m glad you want to bring your rabbit indoors Unfortunately for many people like yourself, some parents just don’t see rabbits as an indoor pet and saying that they smell, while they may or may not believe it, is sometimes simply a reason that is used to prevent it because it’s not easily argued with. Some parents just don’t want bunnies inside. What I would suggest is asking for a trial period. About 2-4 weeks where you are allowed to keep your rabbit inside full time. If your parents still aren’t happy, you have to agree to and without complaints, putting your rabbit back outside again to live once the trial period is over.
You will need to prepare well for things to go to smoothly, if you get the chance to bring bunny inside, don’t clean the litter tray first, keeping your bun’s smell in it will help her with litter habits during the move inside. I would also suggest that you don’t try the trial until after she is desexed. The reason for that is undesexed rabbits are more likely to spray urine and do territorial pee and poop marking outside of their tray. While any rabbit in a new environment may do this, it is more common and often more pronounced with a rabbit that isn’t spayed or neutered. So if you wait until at least a month after her spay surgery, you will stand a better chance of her having really good litter habits without any accidents that may put your parents off. It’s also the reason I suggest a month long trial, because shifting a rabbit into a new environment can cause litter habit upsets, so you need a bit of time to show your parents that she can adjust once inside.
Things you need to consider / potential cons:
– What sort of enclosure you will use, a cage or an xpen? If an x-pen, will bunny want to/be able to jump out of it? What sort of flooring will bunny be on? Some rabbits are very keen to dig and chew carpet and can destroy it quickly.
– Where will the cage go? Is there space in your room? Will you be able to sleep with her in your room, jumping around etc while you’re trying to sleep.
– How often will you sweep/vacuum? Bunny fur and hay gets absolutely everywhere and easily covers every surface in the room they’re living in. Keep in mind you will need to be on top of the cleaning to keep your parents happy if that sort of thing is likely to bother them.
– Bunny proofing. Bunnies love to chew. Furniture, baseboard, cables. You will need to bunny proof all of these, for some of us, losing a cable or two that we accidentally forgot to bunny proof (or didn’t proof well enough) is annoying, but a fact of life. Your parents may not see it the same way and think one chewed cable ins one too many.
– Poops. While bunny may be litter trained, poops still end up here and there and everywhere because sometimes they just let one go, lol. I have no aversion to them, they’re filled with hay and quite dry and crumbly, not gross and squishy like dog poo. Your parents may not see it the same way though.
Otherwise, having indoor rabbits is wonderful. Getting to watch their antics, bonding with them more etc. Providing your keep her habitat clean and tidy, I can’t see your parents having any problem with it. The main thing to consider is to thoroughly bunny proof before hand, because rabbits can be extremely destructive in a surprisingly short amount of time.