Can your bun sense your emotions? Does he or she ever comfort you when you’re sad?

[DorothyTheMiniSatinBun]

I remember when I used to have a dog whenever I would get sad she would jump onto the bed or couch and start licking my head, even if she was well out the door, the sound of me crying would have her come running to jump on top of me and start licking me. Now that I have a bunny, I noticed the other night when I was feeling down and was audibly crying, she would not stop flopping against me. She was also digging repeatedly at my boyfriend. She probably just felt the energy as being off or something, but my boyfriend and I always coo at her and pet her whenever she flops so I can’t help but think she was doing this to get our attention! Is this possible that she would have sensed my sadness and reacted because of it? Have any of you on here ever had it where you felt your bunny was trying to comfort you or sensed that you were upset and reacted strangely? 

[Azerane]

My previous rabbit Bandit was a little bit that way, but since he was an only bun we had a stronger bond. My current pair aren’t like that but they are also restricted to their play pen so if I’m not in there they can’t come to me anyway. I’m sure that all animals can sense emotions, it’s just one of those things.

[Jessica]

I think they can, my bun licks the tears off my cheeks when I cry, and if I’m really anxious she is a total nut and does anything she can to get my attention.

Now I’m not sure how much of this is that she will copy what my dog is doing. My dog is a trained medical alert dog, and my bun is now alerting me the same way he does every time he does :shrug:

[sarabelle]

If I’m upset about something or frustrated(like studying for an exam) Zeke likes to flop down next to me and basically licks my hand when I start showing signs of frustration. Or he does something cute like binky. Bunnies are attuned to people’s emotions, more than you think.

[Bam]

I can’t say that Bam does. My dog does. Bam mostly senses when I have sth edible. But that he does sense =)

[Yoyo]

My bun, I can honestly say,.. at this point, has no real clear bond with me enough, to sense my emotions,.. heck,..hes still just a goofy adolescent, tbh … my other pets, seem to have more awareness tho
If your bun senses your emotions, and reacts to them, in a caring manner tho, I would think that you have a very special bun indeed! I’m a bit jelly too lol xD – in a good way!

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

It depends on the bond you have with your bunny and his/her personality. It sounds like you have a wonderful bond with Dorothy ^_^ It’s beautiful to hear this.

My BF and I have this theory: rabbits are group animals by nature, and checking up on group members is important for social status and making friends. Rabbits don’t really have a hierarchy, but they do tend to form bonds with certain group mates. If their behaviour is off, it could be important to check why. To check if grooming is needed, if there are wounds that need to be cared for etc. Rabbits are known to hide illness, as they’re a prey species and it marks them as weak. It wouldn’t be illogical that rabbits pay extra attention to body language for this reason.

One of the more obvious things that rabbits will sense is sudden agitation or panic. Yesterday a strange man had been spotted lurking in and around our flat, and people over the group Whatsapp were warning eachother. I wanted to go check it out, but Breintje saw/felt that I was agitated about something. He was acting really difficult and didn’t want to follow the command to go in his cage. Instead he bolted around trying to hide in all his hidey holes. Breintje also seems to have a problem with fidgety people, 2 friends of mine have ADHD and are very hyperactive in movement. This upsets Breintje, and he has bitten people because of this. So yes, agitation is something they definitely sense.

About more complex emotions I have another example. Breintje has been living with me for 2,5 years now. In the beginning we weren’t attuned to eachother, but nowadays Breintje seems to know when I have my worst days. He’ll lay down next to me on the couch whenever I’m in a lot of pain, and give me extra cuddles and licks. He responds whenever I’m upset or crying by checking me out, he nudges me with his head or puts his front paw upon my leg to communicate with me. One day the fysio did some work on my shoulder and there was a massive painful spot underneath my armpit. I couldn’t move my arm properly that day. Breintje sniffed around the painful spot and tried to investigate by gently nudging with his head. Bas says that this is comparable to looking for wounds, he must have seen that my movements were very unnatural. It’s so sweet ^_^

So yes, I definitely think that rabbits have the capacity to sense emotions. Maybe it’s more instinctual, but it is there in some rabbits.

[DorothyTheMiniSatinBun]

Cuuute. Yes, Dorothy and I have a great bond!!! Though she is an only bunny, and I spend the most time with her so I can see why  She has always been very affectionate and trusting though, even from the very beginning. 

Thanks for the responses, guys. It’s super interesting to hear everyone’s different experiences with this 

[Muchelle]

As soon as I’m sad/depressed my bun disappears. I think it’s because he wants to be left alone when he’s unwell and so he returns me the favour?
(or he just doesn’t care lol)

[Author]

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