The others

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m sure most of you have been here. Don’t you absolutely hate when you know someone who has bunnies and is not taking care of them up to your standards???

I know someone who has 2 buns, one intact male and one spayed female. I think it’s great these buns were rescued, the male from an especially terrible fate, but they won’t fix the male and he humps the poor female constantly. He barely lets her eat.  Can he hurt her by doing this?

Also they are being fed horse grain despite my MANY MANY attempts to educate on the dangers and get them to get rabbit food. They rarely have greens but I try to bring them some lettuce and greens as often as I can. I bring them treats and toys too.

It’s so hard. I see these bunnies a few times a week and I am really fond of them. I worry for their health but I know the owner is getting annoyed that I’m a "bunny know-it-all". I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’ve tried everything.

[Beka27]

have you referred them to any bunny sites?  HRS or Binky Bunny? 

if you remember, the person i got Stephen (my first bunny) from got him for her 3 year old daughter.  she terrorized him so i took him.  i made some mistakes but it was better than what he had been subjected to.

now her daughter (who is 8) and does not terrorize animals anymore, has a guinea pig.  a very sweet piggy.  her mother decided she wanted to get a pet store bunny and put it in the cage (a small "starter" cage: less than 2 x 3 feet) with the guinea pig.  thank god she didn’t.  i found out later that the pet store person (surprisingly) talked her out of it…  this person would not have altered the rabbit… and i shudder to think what would have become of the guinea pig. 

it’s hard because it’s really easy to sound so negative about rabbits (esp. with recent developments on BinkyBunny) but we all just hate to see animals hurting or unhappy. 

[annette Sibert]

You’d think that since this person cared enough to rescue the bunnies than they’d care enough to want whats best for them! I don’t understand people who chose ignorance despite GOOD advice from a caring heart. I rescued my bunnies and it almost makes me cry thinking about how much I love and care about them, and what I saved them from and how awful thier lives were for so long. I feel for you…your in a tough position.

ps. I dont know if the relentless humping hurts, but if he bites while humping then that definitly hurts! lol

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I know!!! What is it with people who care enough to go to the expense and trouble of having pets and then won’t look after them properly?!?! Why would they bother? They are feeding them horse oats??? Oi, for me it’s kitties at the barn where I ride…One cat just had a litter and there must be 20 cats there all unfixed. I saw the dogs at it the other day too; one male one female…hopefully one is fixed…*SIGH*

[Beka27]

that’s something else that bothers me… i know some people have outdoor cats and they like having outdoor cats, but in my experience, i really believe they should be kept indoors.  if nothing else than to keep them safe and free from fleas and such.  i always see cats running around my neighborhood and it bothers me.

[osprey]

Outdoor house cats also wreak havoc with local bird populations.  There are some areas around here where they are trapping and killing loose cats (mostly ferals) to protect some endangered species of waterfowl.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

In my city they passed a law that cats can’t be outside. You can rent traps to catch them…This didn’t change a thing at all-People still keep their cats outside!! Even without collars…You’d think if just anyone could pick up your cat and take it in as a stray you would at least put a collar on it so you would be phoned??

If nothing else, to protect them from bad little boys and sicko’s and cars, why oh why do they let their cats out? I personally wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if any of my pets were out !!

[Beka27]

i don’t know that they even care for their cats welfare at all…  i am not a cat person… but i see no point in providing costly vet care for an animal that you then allow to run thru the streets picking up disease, getting hit by cars, etc.  same with dogs that are not fenced in (or trained not to leave home.)  if everyone took responsibility for the pets they have, shelters would be next to empty.

[ScooterandAnnette]

Oh please, people don’t even take responsibility for themselves never mind for their pets. I’m at my mom’s for Christmas and there’s a story in the paper here about some guys that beat another guy who then died a while back. A woman in a car saw it and called 911 to report it. The guys are now trying to blame HER, saying that if she had gotten out of the car to intervene then the death could have been prevented, so her fault. I think personal responsibility must be out of fashion.

As far as pets go, also around my mother’s place there’s a family with a pet bunny. I first noticed it a few years ago when I was out for a walk and saw a bunny on the driveway. Just sitting there, taking the odd tinny little hop. I could tell it wasn’t a wild bunny so I picked it up and was looking around when the girl came out of the back yard and saw me and took him. Apparently they just let him run around on his own in the yard and he occasionally escapes. He didn’t fuss at all when I picked him up and I thought wow he’s really docile, but later started to think that perhaps he’s just resigned to the fact that he’s going to be hauled around like a stuffed toy.

Bunnies can be – as everyone here knows – fantastic pets. They can be affectionate, and mischievous, and playful. But they’re living creatures with habits and needs and personalities and are a lot of work to maintain properly.

 

– Annette

[skunklionshow]

Leo is NOT neutered by Jessica is spayed.  The issue has been w/ his difficulties recovering from anesthesia.  When we were still planning how to deal w/ him and his humping….at least he’s not a hump a holic…our vet told us that they don’t harm the females, but that can injure their own pee pees.  She said many a male rabbit has been known to get a sprained weiner from the crazy humping.  I’ve seen him go after Jessi and OMG its crazy fast!

On a final note, I think the people that love animals are even more sensitive to pet needs than anyone else.  My older sister had 3 huskies and they did a terrible job caring for those dogs.  They didn’t believe in spaying/neutering, until the female developed pyrometra.  All the dogs were in awful shape and I really despised my sister for this.  No matter what info I would share w/ her, I was always the freak that was too Hype about my pets.  …Don’t even get me started on my pet pet peeves…as a psychologist in training, I still can’t get over blatant issues of animal abuse/neglect.

[babybunsmum]

yeah its pretty upsetting to have first-hand knowledge that a pet isn’t being well cared for.  people are so concerned that their pets meet their needs, instead of meeting their pets needs as it should be that they can be closed-minded to suggestions & reccommendations.   i think the approach can some times break thru.  but it sounds like these buns are getting ‘for conveniance only’ pet care.  as in… we have all this stuff for horses – might as well just add rabbits into the mix.   then again, i could be reading more into your post than you intended

i’d have no problem continuing to give advice even if it means being a bit of a pest.   just always find a way to say it with a smile

[Sarita]

Well for all the awful people out there who don’t care for their pets at least there are plenty like us who give our pets the best in care. I know alot of good people with the bad so I’m grateful for the good people.

Some people do want to give good care but they just don’t know how or need some help (monetarily or advise wise).

Working in rescue and getting lots of dump calls and emails it’s sometimes hard for me to be anything but jaded but I try not to be – I really do :~)

[LittlePuffyTail]

I plan on continuing to try to help this person do what’s right for these bunnies. I sort of knew this would happen the second I was informed they wanted to get a bunny for their son (groan…). In almost a year I have yet to see that son even look at the bunny. Maybe parents should actually sit down and ask their child if they want a bunny. I feel the parent’s love the bunnies and there are many many bunnies worse off than these bunnies but I feel if you have the means to give them the best care, do so…It just bothers me cuz they have tons of other animals who receive perfect care. Even their barn cats are neutered…

[Ash]

I know someone like that and had us watch her bunny. When we went over to explain there care I was shocked. This bunny was in a tiny cage may 3×3 at the most. They never let him have any space inside the house other than his cage but they put him outside in a pen but don’t watch him and will stay out there practicallt all day if they’re home. I told her about the hawks around and she said he is too big (he’s maybe 5lbs and there are tons of hawks). he has no toys or chewing objects either; no veggies. Even my husband (who I turned around from not liking animals) didn’t like how they care fore him. I told her about this site and NIC condos to hopefully help her bun. he is such a sweetie to he loves attention.

There’s a law in FL too about cats. if you have a cat it must be on a leash if it’s off your property unless its a ferral cat.

[Scarlet_Rose]

It is definately a frustrating time for all of us animal lovers to try and wrap our brains around the things that people do that just make my jaw hit the ground. However, oever the years even of just volunteering you do get jaded and yes it is rather hard not to be like Sarita mentioned. I admit that I worked with the hardest cases because I had the stomach for it and all the love in the world for them. I know it is so easy to slip down the slopes of outrage but concentrate on the task at hand, educating and healing the wrong helps. I’ve seen plenty of horrid things and it never ceases to amaze me anymore what people are capable of.

With regards to the people who have these pets and are not caring for them properly, turn them into the ASPCA. It does not matter if they are your firend, sister, brother or parent. Wrong is wrong and the animal suffers from your silence. For the rabbit owners, you can also try giving them the House Rabbit Handbook or print out literature from your favorite rabbit rescue group. Often times I find that these individuals are the most open when something goes wrong or they need to take the animal to the vet for care. They will often end up on your doorstep pleading for help, not knowing where to turn or even handing the rabbit over to you. There is only so much you can do and the rest you have to leave up to the powers that be.

[MarkBun]

All you can really do is educate them. Unless the pets are in extreme danger or are being very badly taken care of, the ASPCA won’t do anything other than do what you are doing – give them instructions on how to take care of them.

I have someone who still feeds her bunny dorito chips and home made apple pie. I have managed to finally get her to get her rabbit to a vet to have it spayed but only because it is the only way she’ll be able to get another bunny to bond with the first one.

[Deleted User]

I know what you mean, I know this person that said that she doesn’t care if her bunnies die or if someone eats them!! It is soo sad, and when her bunny’s nail was bleeding she PULLED it out!! She does NOT CARE about any of her animals and treats them soo badly! It makes me sick.

[BinkyBunny]

Mocha – from the sounds of it, this is something you could actually anonymously report to animal care and control.

Regarding how frustrating it is. HOLY COW, it is ridiculously frustrating. I was just talking to someone about this. One of the most irritating things is when you can see an animal is not being treated properly. and they refuse to listen or they don’t care. (I’m not talking about ignorance, as that is understandable, and I have a lot of compassion for people wanting to learn – I’m talking more about ego or procrastination issues) And so if you let your anger be the reaction to their care, you become even more powerless to help, because then they’ll either stop listening or become defensive. And that will only hurt the animal in the long run since they won’t change.   So you’re stuck with this anger, but you have to tread lightly while you feel it.  It is extremely hard.

If it wasn’t for the fact that they have an innocent animal in their posession, then sometimes it would feel good to just express my frustration directly. But instead it’s like watching a spoiled brat child with a lit dynomite, and s/he’s the type of child if you instruct him to let go, he’ll run away and end up hurting himself and others. SO in the meantime, you just dance around trying your best to make him let go with hints and enticements, all the while you are just screaming inside for him to let go. That’s what it feels like sometimes when you are trying to help stubborn people provide better care for animals.

Little Puffy Tail – What does she say when you offer advice?

There are a few things that can happen if the female is being humped all the time by the male.

1. She will go into GI stasis from too much stress.
2. She won’t be able to get enough nutrition due to not eating as much.
3. A nasty fight can break out

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

The thing I really hate is going in pet stores and seeing the bunnies without any hay or greens… the only place I’ve actually seen rabbits taken care of properly is at Petco because they’re adoptables from shelters!

 

Side note: The people who let their cats roam free in my neighborhood learn a lesson from it when the coyotes eat the cats 😡

[osprey]

We went to the Santa Barbara Zoo a few months ago, and they have an (outdoor) display of a trio of rabbits.  No hay, no litterbox, free feed pellets (most likely alfalfa too), wire bottomed hutch.  These are supposed to be taken care of by professionals, and they had the wrong food.  At least they seemed to be given some greens, and the enclosure had a ramp to the ground so that they could run around whenever they wanted to.

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