Thinking about re-homing Pepe :(

[Cheyanne May]

A lot things have happened this past summer, with moving, and getting a kitten, and my boyfriend getting a second job, and my mom being sick, and I can’t help but think that my little buddy is being neglected. I’m out a lot of the time helping my mom, and on top of all this we’re moving again. 
When I’m home I can’t give Pepe the attention he needs because I can’t let him out of the cage without our kitten attacking him. 
I feel so, so bad and I can’t stand seeing him so lonely. I know my boyfriend won’t want to find him a home but I really think it’s what is best. We had to re-home nugget and moo cow when we moved in here because our landlord suddenly changed her mind about rabbits, and that was hard enough but Pepe has always been really special to us. I don’t know what else to do. I am not taking him to a shelter, I would much rather find him a forever home myself so that I know he’s in the right hands. But still I feel so guilty about it.
Please don’t respond saying that I’m being selfish. I only want whats best for him, and the last time we moved he was really stressed out, and wouldn’t let anybody near him for a few days. I know giving him a new home would stress him out too, but where we’re moving isn’t permanent. 

So anyways, I just wanted to know if anybody else has been in this situation. 

[Roberta]

You feel bad about him not having as much time but he is probably fine, they sleep most of the day and the addition of an Xpen would give him kitten free play space. Your kitten will eventually settle down and some supervised play time might be the way…
I know you are trying to do the best for him and only you truly know your full situation… But if we can highlight some possible solutions for you then it might help with that final decision.

[MK]

Roberta had a point, they sleep most of the day anyway However, I understand, sometimes you have to do what is best for your bunny and for yourself.. Here is an article from the House Rabbit Society webpage that should help:

http://rabbit.org/how-to-rehome-your-rabbit/

Also, you can try and advertise through your vet, that way you can meet with the people and question then about what kind of home they will provide, if you can’t find a way to keep him,

[Cheyanne May]

Thank you so much! This is very hard for me because like I said, he’s so special to us and he is indeed a part of our little family. I’d hate to give him away but I just want him to be happy, and to let him binky around and be happy but its so hard with very little space for him to do so, and a kitten jumping on his back every time he moves I tried the xpen thing and our kitten jumps right over it. I’ve tried to find taller ones but they’re very expensive.
When I rehomed nugget and moo, I interviewed the people before hand. Nugget went with an older lady who had a mini petting zoo for her grand kids, and Moo went to a younger girl who had previously lost her bunny. I’d love to find Pepe a home like nugget has, so he can run around outside, which is his favorite thing to do. Aside from being in his cage 24/7 i bring him outside when i have the time, which lately has only been a couple times a week and he’s putting on weight so i know he needs more play time than that.

On the other hand i’m not sure re-homing him will be easy. He has issues with being held and has sliced me open pretty bad in the past when i’ve tried to pick him up. He also sprays pee when hes on my bed. Not to sure why, but it started when he was very young and i never knew how to break him out of that.
Other than those things, he’s a very loving bunny and has never bitten me.
I’m going to talk to my boyfriend when he gets home and see if re-homing him is a good idea or not. Thank you so much again everyone.

[Stickerbunny]

You can put covers over x-pens to avoid other animals getting in, so the kitten couldn’t get to him.

[Boing]

Here’s a picture of my recently improved x-pen lid.  As you can see, it is an ordinary double size dog x-pen with a nic cube roof.

It is secured using zip ties.  Since I was concerned about the weight of the roof, I also put loosely tightened automotive (metal, 150 pounds of pressure) zip ties in strategic locations.  If the plastic ones break, the automotive ones will prevent the bunny from being squished.  Be careful if you get the automotive zip ties.  You can’t cut them with wire cutters – you would need tin scissors or something like that.

My cat doesn’t even like climbing on this roof, because of how thin the wires are.  My rabbit is in there when I am at away.

I have no idea why this is upside down.  That’s a first.

Good luck!

[Cheyanne May]

That’s a really good idea! I like how that one looks. Mine is just round.
And thanks for the idea!
I talked to my boyfriend about it and we’ve decided to keep Pepe. He promised to make more time for him when he’s home, and we’re going to bring him outide everyday for half an hour. Also where we’re moving there will be a lot more room for him. And when I let him out of his cage, I can just put the kitten in our room.
Thank you for your advice everyone.

[MK]

So glad you can keep him

[Roberta]

Glad you are going to keep him… One thing you could also try are a few interactive toys for the kitten to keep it occupied whilst Pepe enjoys some out of cage time….

[Beka27]

I’m glad you’re going to try to make it work! I agree that the kitten stage doesn’t last forever. Work on getting them to accept each other with supervision. That will make things so much easier for you in the future!

[Author]

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