Why do people look at rabbits differently?

[kamdynandsunshinesmom]

So my grandmother was over yesterday and I love her very dearly my mom was talking to her and said that your grandmother wouldn’t put up with having 2 house. My grandmother said no I wouldn’t maybe if they were outside or in the basement. Yet my grandmother doesn’t have any problems with my aunts dog running the house and sitting on furniture. It just bothers me as some people think that rabbits aren’t like cats and dogs they deserve to live outside and be neglected. Rabbits should have the privlages as dogs and cats to roam that house in a rabbit proof area!

[peppypoo]

It’s sad isn’t it? I think it’s because until lately, if somebody kept rabbits it was for meat or for fur…pet rabbits are a relatively recent thing. And now, a lot of people can’t change their thinking that rabbits are “dirty farm animals”.

[bunnyfriend]

Yeah I agree. Unfortunately a lot of people considers them rodents. They aren’t! Rabbits aren’t cats or dogs but I feel like they’re an equivalent, much different than a hamster or a mouse (which deserve to be taken care of well too, but they can’t really roam free, ect.). I think many people don’t realize how clean they really are and that they can be litter trained. They just don’t understand or know much about rabbits. People I know are always like “What?? Your rabbit doesn’t get confined in a cage? They can be litter trained? Your rabbit can do that ?” Some of them don’t even realize rabbits (well not all of them haha) like human attention, beg for food, or plot little plans to get our attention/food.

[longhairmike]

just ask them “hey i can kiss my bunny without having to wonder if he was licking his balls a few minutes ago,, can you say the same for your dog?”

[LBJ10]

Posted By longhairmike on 09/26/2011 09:31 PM
just ask them “hey i can kiss my bunny without having to wonder if he was licking his balls a few minutes ago,, can you say the same for your dog?”

 

Since both my boys are neutered, I suppose I wouldn’t have to worry about that.

[charcoal's mom]

Posted By longhairmike on 09/26/2011 09:31 PM
just ask them “hey i can kiss my bunny without having to wonder if he was licking his balls a few minutes ago,, can you say the same for your dog?”

 

 Hahaha! Nice one… though if whoever you’re saying that to doesn’t know that bunnies eat their poop straight from their poophole… Husssssh… that’s our secret. 

[Lazee]

What gets me is most think they prefer to be outside. Well not my girls. I have 2 setups. The only thing separating them is a sliding glass door in the basement rec room. Outside is a patio walled on both sides with extended fencing for grass area. When I leave the door open they go in and out for playing but when they are tired and ready for a nap I find them inside. If I close the door there they are, setting at the door waiting for it to open.

It looks messy casue I was in the process of cleaning and drying out after 5 days of rain.

 

Just cleaned out, usually there is food and toys and whatnots.

The rec room that they are so fond of.

My trouble maker, the reason for 2 seperate living quarters.

[Elrohwen]

In my experience, most people just seem surprised that my rabbits live in the house and are so clean – I’ve never had anyone say that they should live outside or anything. Especially once they meet the rabbits and see them running around the living room, they seem to think it’s perfectly fine for them to live in the house. Though I live in the NE and I find people treat their pets really well.

[Joyfull_music]

I guess I have just learned to turn a def ear towards idiot comments. Trust me it is not much easier in the reptile world.

[Eepster]

For a long time it was believed to be unhealthy (for the rabbit not the humans) to keep rabbits indoors. Rabbits were thought of as farm animals that needed fresh air.

Keeping rabbits as pets as well as raising them as live stock isn’t that new a concept. My great-grandfather raised rabbits for meat fur, but gave my dad one of the little one to my dad to take home as a pet.

[MayaConsuelo]

I agree with what others are saying here. A lot of people are used to thinking of rabbits as big hamsters that you put in a cage on the porch or in a classroom. They just sit around and eat, you can’t see their playful personality as much when they’re confined to a small space. Also they get a bad rap for being destructive (which is definitely true) – however, dogs which are the most popular pet are just as destructive if not more when they’re puppies! I know people who have had half their house destroyed by puppies, and to an extent that a rabbit wouldn’t even be able to manage due to their smaller size.

It’s also odd how few vets have experience with rabbits. They’re considered exotics… really a bunny rabbit is exotic?

I think with more education in the general public thanks to shelters and foster groups, and with more people adopting and taking rabbits to the vet regularly, this will start to change slowly. A lot of my friends have learned a lot about rabbits thanks to their exposure to Mr. Bun-Bun alone!

[Sarita]

Rabbits do have the distinction of being both pets and livestock…but then again are alot of animals – chickens, goats, cows (at least in my opinion).

I do think that rabbits as pets in the house is still more of a novelty. The House Rabbit Society was only formed in 1988 and they’ve done a ton to promote them as pets (in the house and speutered). I doubt that rabbits will ever surpass dogs or cats though as being the pet of choice for many people…they really aren’t an easy pet to keep like many people think and alot of people become disappointed when they discover they aren’t cuddly little pets – I think it takes a special kind of person to appreciate a rabbit as a pet.

[Deleted User]

A lot of people think rabbits are rodents too! My dad thought there were in the beginning, he said they were stinky. Now he likes my bunny ! He calls him his grandson! Ha ha! NOt all people are bunny crazy

[bunnyfriend]

So today I started helping out in an elementary school classroom and they have a pet rabbit. I feel so bad for this poor little guy! He is kept in a generic small petstore cage and the only time he gets to come out is when the kids are handling him. He has junk food pellets and but gets hay also. From what I can tell they don’t feed him any veggies. He even has pine shavings all on the cage bottom because “it smells better”. Of course they aren’t taking him to the vet or getting him neutered either. I really feel like I should say something, or at least inform the teacher more about rabbits in general. Maybe I could just mention a couple things about my rabbit/ how I take care of her. I get that people want to teach kids to be nice to animals and all, but I can’t help feel like it is also sort of cruel. The school obviously isn’t going to allow much money to be spent a classroom pet. And the quality of life of this rabbit can’t be too good, I can’t imagine that he enjoys being manhandled by a bunch of kids. ): What should I do?

[LBJ10]

bunnnyfriend – I would just make some friendly suggestions and, like you said, tell them about your rabbit. If the rabbit really is a boy, I would think that having him neutered would be the last thing to worry about. It won’t “hurt” him not to be neutered and the school is obviously not going to pay for that. You have to pick your battles and first work on getting him some decent food and maybe an exercise pen. Oh! Maybe you could donate an exercise pen!

[angie-la]

this also makes me sad too =[ the worst part, I think, is a lot of people think it’s perfectly fine to just leave a bunny in a cage, like you do with a hamster. that’s what was happening with rornikka before I got them. my old roommate also had a bunny who she kept in a cage for the most part [this was way before I had the bunnies so I didn’t know any better to tell her the bun needed more exercise].

[peppypoo]

bunnnyfriend: I think LBJ10 made a great point about how you should pick your battles – since the bunny is male, the neuter is not absolutely necessary, not to mention that it would probably be the most expensive step to take. Little things like better pellets, hay, and more exercise…I guess it depends on the teacher, but I don’t think it would hurt to introduce these things in the context of the classroom so the kids can learn about responsibility, exercise, and nutrition too.

[MayaConsuelo]

@bunnyfriend, this is an excellent opportunity to educate a great number of people (who are children and very malleable!) If you have time alone with the teacher, tell him/her you’re a longtime rabbit advocate and owner, and there are ways to improve the classroom rabbit’s life that are cheap. Setting up a corner pen would be great for the rabbit (not to mention more entertaining for both the rabbits and the kids!) – and it’s pretty cheap to get an X-Pen, so the rabbit could be out at least during the day. I would start bringing in greens immediately – if the rabbit’s not used to them he might not eat that much at first, and that would be a weekly investment of $5 or so, for some nice greens and cilantro or whatever.

I doubt the teacher or administrators are intentionally being neglectful, so this is a great way to show people how easy it is to properly care for a rabbit. A classroom isn’t ideal, but there’s no need for a classroom rabbit to have a bad or uncomfortable life!

[Rex]

I just got a teaching job and moved. I had a bunch of people ask if Coffeebean would be the classroom pet, like I would take him from a house bunny to a caged, harrassed bunny in a classroom with 2 dozen 6 year olds.  Great idea.  

My landlord needed convincing to allow the bunny. I got pet approval because the carpets weren’t new. But, my landlord did ask if I would keep him only in the kitchen with a baby gate before offering me a lease, to which I replied, “No, he won’t walk on linoleum and I will be giving him free run of the house.” Luckily, my landlord was patient to ask the right questions and allow me to educate her on rabbit potty habbits, etc.

[LoveChaCha]

When my dad and I went apartment hunting, one of the top priorities were:

-Our rooms were not next to each other
-THE PLACE ACCEPTED RABBITS

The apartment that I currently live in allows rabbits… but.. hahah, the landlord believes that my bunny is in a cage all day, which is a stinkin lie, of course
My dad was attracted to the sunroom, which he instantly pointed out “THATS FOR KOUCHA!!”

My dad laughs when he sees Chacha chewing on her box and she says “Koucha is a RODENT!!” I have to remind him taht she isn’t, and is a legomorph, but I don’t think that he sees much of a difference :p But he loves her to pieces heh. He says that she is lucky and doesn’t live in a tiny cage and gets to eat what she wants.

I’m very fortunate that i know many people that accept that I love, cherish, and spoil my rabbit and see nothing wrong with it.

My theory is: If you have an animal, go all out and give it the good life. They are our children, so why not?

[LoveChaCha]

I just mentioned my theory to my dad and he added onto it, saying ‘you only live once, spoil the animal!!!!!!’

[MayaConsuelo]

@LoveChaCha I agree! Yesterday the vets were impressed with Bun-Bun’s super healthy and varied fresh diet, and by how neat and tidy he was… makes me wonder the condition of other rabbits they see :/
In the future whenever we get another apartment in NYC we have to do the same thing, pretend the rabbit is a tiny animal (pretty much true) who stays in a cage. He doesn’t do any damage to the apartment (just our things in it!) so nobody needs to know anything different!

[Rai]

I donno… it’s kinda sad. Okay, it’s very sad. When I moved to my apartment I had just one rabbit at the time and I asked about him when I was filling out the paperwork as there was a ‘pet fee’ part. The landlord was like, “What, it’s a rabbit? In a cage?” “Yeah….” and said he wouldn’t have me pay a fee because he wouldn’t be out and about and doing stuff like a cat or a dog. I was just like. ……..right… >.> Since I definitely didn’t want to pay the 250 bucks. But seriously? Of course Tricksy is going to be out and about and doing probably more damage than a cat would!! (I donno about a dog. haha) Luckily, so far Tricksy has been great. No carpet chewing or peeing on the rug. Mommy’s proud of him. xD

My roommate who is a long time friend doesn’t see how I could  ‘have them in here’. As in he can’t fathom how I could possibly have two smelly furballs running around my room. They don’t even smell… He’s just teasing me most of the time, but sometimes I get really annoyed with it. He doesn’t like house animals (coming from the fact that his mom is a clean freak and never had pets in the house, I’m guessing) and has heart failure if even one poo is on the floor if he comes into my room. I just ignore him thinking, “really, REALLY?!”. It’s not going to leap and attack him. -_- I consider rabbit poo, like… the least nasty poo of the animal world. It’s dry, hard, tiny… and doesn’t particularly smell. We’ve gotten into …not arguments, but conversation back and forth like,  ”That’s nasty. -points to ONE poo-” “No it’s not….” “But it’s -another word for poo-!!!!” “I don’t mind too much!” “BUT IT’S ANIMAL POO”  ”IT’S NOT GONNA HURT YOU” Ugh, but I donno, he’s just really weird. haha //endrant

[kamdynandsunshinesmom]

I think the same thing lovechacha. I spoil my kids. i even think of there needs before my needs. I will not buy myself things because my rabbits need things. I just wish society was better understanding and people like my sister excepted rabbits and my love for rabbits. My sister loves to eat out. I don’t critize her for that. Thanks everyone I quess I am not alone. My gram also needs to except it. She excepts my aunts dog running all around the house.

[Stickerbunny]

*shrug* People still on a whole think of buns as cage pets that are just there to be touched a few times a day but mainly just lives in a cage and smells up the place (well, duh, you have it in a tiny cage with no litter box, of course it’s going to smell!). My boyfriend thought rabbits were cage-only rodents that lived at most a couple of years when we first got Powder. Day 1 Powder was brought home and let run around the living room, he instantly used his litter box (even though the shelter didn’t have one for him) and a simple “no” got him to stop chewing things he wasn’t supposed to. Now the boyfriend says he’d rather have Powder than any of the cats or dogs he’s had in the past. Accidents are really easy to clean too – I have an old sock in their room and I pick up stray droppings with that, vacuum up any that get left around the rest of the house and if one of them pees anywhere (like Stickers decided to go outside the litter box because Powder was hogging the one she wanted to use) a little nature’s miracle and it’s gone instantly.

Problem is society views them as such and things like … having rabbits as classroom pets teaches the new generation that as well. And TV shows show them always in tiny cages too. Just like birds and reptiles – they get this stigma from media / the way the old generations did it and it’s hard to shake that. Most people are SHOCKED that I have a bird and two rabbits cage-free in my house. I get “EW poo everywhere” (well, from the bird maybe but it’s easy to wipe off and he only uses a few spots lol) etc. I was actually surprised a Witness came to the door the other week and she saw my rabbit and was exclaiming over how cute he was and she asked two questions “Whats his name?” and “Is he box trained?” so the information is getting out there, slowly.

Suggest the teacher set up a run, with those little play pads for kids as a floor to protect the floor so the rabbit can exercise and the kids can more easily interact with it. A salad container in the classroom would be great for the kids too – they could hand feed the bun and so would enjoy it more. Put the suggestions in ways that “You know, this would be great for the students AND the bunny!” because really, a classroom pet is supposed to be about teaching the kids empathy/care of animals/responsibility/about our species so a teacher should WANT to improve that in any way possible. Try to come up with cost effective options though, because a lot of those teachers pay for it out of their own pocket.

[luvmyhunybuny]

Posted By Elrohwen on 09/27/2011 06:28 AM
In my experience, most people just seem surprised that my rabbits live in the house and are so clean – I’ve never had anyone say that they should live outside or anything. Especially once they meet the rabbits and see them running around the living room, they seem to think it’s perfectly fine for them to live in the house. Though I live in the NE and I find people treat their pets really well.

 

I have noticed this, especially since moving to TX. I am from MA and people from that area just seem to be more passionate about their animals. Not so much here. Don’t get me wrong, there are very passionate animal lovers in Texas, but it seems there are more people here that find their animals disposable. Or only good enough for the backyard. Why get a dog or rabbit and then stick them in the backyard? That does not many any sense to me.

[luvmyhunybuny]

Posted By MayaConsuelo on 09/27/2011 12:43 PM

I agree with what others are saying here. A lot of people are used to thinking of rabbits as big hamsters that you put in a cage on the porch or in a classroom. They just sit around and eat, you can’t see their playful personality as much when they’re confined to a small space. Also they get a bad rap for being destructive (which is definitely true) – however, dogs which are the most popular pet are just as destructive if not more when they’re puppies! I know people who have had half their house destroyed by puppies, and to an extent that a rabbit wouldn’t even be able to manage due to their smaller size.

It’s also odd how few vets have experience with rabbits. They’re considered exotics… really a bunny rabbit is exotic?

I think with more education in the general public thanks to shelters and foster groups, and with more people adopting and taking rabbits to the vet regularly, this will start to change slowly. A lot of my friends have learned a lot about rabbits thanks to their exposure to Mr. Bun-Bun alone!

I have done a few adoption events and I am amazed at how many don’t know that rabbits DO make wonderful INDOOR pets. They are shocked that they are litter trained, loving and that some even crave human attention. I really love doing the events so I can help in educating and spreading the word on how much a house rabbit can enrich your life!

 

[peppypoo]

Yup, I think it’s all about education and outreach. Especially with the beginning of school and stuff, I’ve had to participate in more “icebreakers” than I can count by this point, and my stock “interesting fact about myself” is that I have litter- and trick-trained bunnies, haha. Everybody is always super surprised when I say they’re largely free-roam and use litter boxes! I love talking about them, and I figure it’s a great way to spread bunny awareness to as many people as I can in the process.

[Elrohwen]

Posted By luvmyhunybuny on 09/30/2011 12:08 PM

Posted By Elrohwen on 09/27/2011 06:28 AM
In my experience, most people just seem surprised that my rabbits live in the house and are so clean – I’ve never had anyone say that they should live outside or anything. Especially once they meet the rabbits and see them running around the living room, they seem to think it’s perfectly fine for them to live in the house. Though I live in the NE and I find people treat their pets really well.

 

I have noticed this, especially since moving to TX. I am from MA and people from that area just seem to be more passionate about their animals. Not so much here. Don’t get me wrong, there are very passionate animal lovers in Texas, but it seems there are more people here that find their animals disposable. Or only good enough for the backyard. Why get a dog or rabbit and then stick them in the backyard? That does not many any sense to me.

I agree – people in the NE just seem to love spoiling their pets. Of course there are a lot of pet lovers everywhere, but every single person I know in this area with a pet spoils them as much as I spoil the bunnies. I think for someone who is really into their dog or cat, it’s not that big of a jump to see someone who’s really into rabbits – strange at first, but then it’s like any other pet that deserves the good life.

[LoveChaCha]

Bwahaha, my customers ask me all the time “Is your rabbit litter trained?” “Doesn’t she chew on stuff?” “Does she like to be held?” They always give a surprised face. I even have a couple that comes through my line and asks “Do you have any bunny stories for us today?”

I have actually convinced some parents that rabbits are not good pets for their small children. They asked about the maintenance of a rabbit and were turned off by it

One of my PICs (person in charge that helps cashiers out when they need assistance) showed her mom pictures of Chacha on my facebook. Her mom said “Wow, does it live in a cage?” My coworker said “Nooo, that rabbit is her BABY, she does what she wants!” Her mom replied “I’m glad to hear! When I hear about rabbits, all that I hear about are ones that live in cages.”

HAHAH!! It made me laugh so hard when she told me this yesterday!

I think the only messy thing about rabbits is the hay mess

One of our members has a rabbit and takes her to school everyday. The rabbit doesn’t mind at all, and has a place in the classroom

[Stickerbunny]

The hay mess AND the shredded paper mess Chacha! lol Which reminds me, I have to pick up all the shredded paper because they have gone through yet another paper tunnel and it needs replaced. o.O

Chacha, that is fine, I probably should have clarified my statement earlier as : classroom pets with the way most are treated imo sends the wrong message. Since most are just shoved into cages, fed bad diets and aren’t really cared for that well. If a person properly cares for it and takes it home at night etc, it can teach what the classroom pet is intended to, which is a good lesson.

[LoveChaCha]

Its no problem Sticker I wish the member was around a lot more I believe she is busy with teaching.

OH, for the messes, add willow toy messes. Ouch

I also stepped on hay (and didn’t notice) and put my shoe on for work. I got to work and all of a sudden “OWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!” xD

[Stickerbunny]

Hehe better than what I did with my bird mess – he plays with tooth picks and he threw one in the floor… I usually blunt them out before I let him have them, but apparently that one got missed and it went through my foot. Owwy. Was stuck in there and came out with a fair amount of blood. And yes willow toy messes! Though, mine are usually pretty good about totally pulping wood, so it can be vacuumed up. lol

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