Rehoming my rabbit? Please help!

[MerryY]

I am in a very hard situation and I need advice, success stories, anything.

I am currently in the United States but, hopefully next year, I will be moving to Brazil to live with my husband who is already there and be close to our family. I am absolutely thrilled to be with my love, but I am also panicking. My dream is to bring my rabbit with me and we love him so much. He’s very close to me, cuddly and purring whenever I pet his nose and face. He is a very chill rabbit and almost six years old. I want to bring him with me so badly, I can’t even describe and my husband wants him there too. We love him.

But everything I have read says international flights, especially those which are over 24 hours long, are very hard and stressful on rabbits and can lead to death. I could never imagine putting him through something like that. But I’m not sure if that’s 100% accurate, so that’s one reason why I am posting. Obviously, him dying is my worst fear for him, more so than losing him and him losing us by rehoming him.

So, if I absolutely cannot travel with him, my only other option is to rehome him. I got him as a tiny baby and have had him this whole almost six years. I want us to be his forever home. But if we can’t be, my question is this: do you think a rabbit can learn to love a new family? I would absolutely find the BEST family for him and ask them to stay in contact with me no matter what, to keep me updated on how he is, send pictures, etc.

He’s great with other animals, too.

If I do rehome him, will he be depressed? Will he feel like we don’t love him anymore? I need serious answers, because I am panicking so much.

If rehoming him is the best option, do I do so early so I can still be around if he does get depression or needs me for some reason? Or do I wait until the last month or so to give him to his new home?

I’m so stressed and sad over this, but moving is important and a necessity. Please help.

[Cinnimon&Ollie]

Has your rabbit ever gone on trips like to the pet store? Or anywhere, is he ok in the car, and on the trips, if he has gone on any?

[DanaNM]

This is a very hard decision, and I think it’s admirable that you just want to do what’s best for your bunny.

I know of a few members who have done long moves with rabbits on planes. @Q8bunny moved from Kuwait to Canada with her bun, and it was quite an ordeal with customs but he did fine. @Cinnimon&Ollie ‘s question about how your rabbit travels is a good one. If your bun gets super stressed over just a car ride or trip to the vet, a long day of traveling might be hard on him. Some rabbits are just super chill with it and will eat and everything on a plane (there are some prominent rabbit youtubers who have some videos on this). It would be important to find an airline that would let your bun ride in the cabin with you, which may be the harder part, because I know a lot of airlines have cracked down on this. I would not travel with a rabbit in cargo.

How long would your total travel time be? Could you break it up a bit into chunks to allow him to rest in between (and syringe feed and give fluids if needed)? I recently drove cross country with our 4 bunnies (a 5.5 day drive), and I was pretty impressed with how well they all handled it. They wouldn’t eat when the car was moving, but I was able to get them all to eat on lunch breaks, and they mostly acted normally in the hotels each night. I did need to syringe feed one bunny and give her some fluids on the second half of the trip. You can talk to your vet ahead of the trip and have them set you up with fluids and some pain medication. Some vets will also prescribe gabapentin to help with stress in rabbits.

I think if you rehome him to a good family he will be just fine. All of my bunnies have been rescues of some sort or another (craigslist, a friend, and from the shelter), and they have all been very happy once they settle in. My senior bun (who I adopted when he was 9) had been returned to the shelter twice, and he practically crawled into my arms at the shelter. So I don’t think he would become depressed if you found him a good home.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[ParsleyBun]

I think rehoming would be totally unnecessary! I have never traveled long distances with my buns, but I think it would be fine. If bunny wouldn’t eat, you could syringe feed critical care. Unless bunny would have to be in the cargo section. If so… I don’t think that would work.

[martini]

Buns are more sturdy than we think! I was stressed to just take mine on a car ride, but he was ok. We then upgraded to long train rides, and then to a 12hour flight (although door to door it is more like 20 hours (NYc – Brussels)). I cannot say much about rehoming but traveling with a bunny is not impossible. Sure it requires lots of preparation and in this case probably a lot of paperwork but definitely worth it. Every bunny is different – mine happily and constantly munches on his hay during travels which makes it easier; the only issue is he does not drink water, so we feed him salads dipped in water and have a syringe to force feed as well.

[Wick & Fable]

A definitive deciding factor is if you cannot find an airline that allows you to have your rabbit with you in the cabin– if you can only travel with your rabbit in cargo, then indeed rehoming is the best choice. In addition to this is actual customs and international travel considerations– does your rabbit need paperwork from veterinarian(s) for country exit/entry? Are you able to get that?

Second to flying logistics is your actual perception of your rabbit’s ability to deal with airplane travel. While hard to consider, you can try doing a car ride and seeing how your rabbit reacts. I would say a rabbit who can’t eventually habituate to traveling vehicles is not a good candidate for long airplane rides.

If rehoming is indeed the most appropriate options, there are many things you can do to ensure your wonderful rabbit has such a great new home. Here is a link that outlines some things to consider: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Rehoming_your_rabbit

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[MerryY]

Thank you so much everyone! I feel so much better after hearing your stories and advice. I would definitely find an airline service that would allow him to be with me! I wouldn’t let him go in cargo, I read that’s even harder and no matter how kind people may be, I wouldn’t trust my bun with strangers not qualified to handle him. I am relieved and panicking much less now, whether he can come with me or not… I am definitely leaning towards can, though as I said, I’ll do what’s best for him not for me. He does handle car rides well, he’s gone to the vet with little problem. We’ll try longer rides to see how he fares way before the actual travel!

Thank you thank you thank you so much!

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