Photo of Holly Bunny by AlishaV
Yeah, I know, I’m a cat and this is a cat blog. I write a lot about cats that need rescue in kill shelters. Well, beginning today a lot of those kitties are going to be joined by unwanted bunnies, all because some humans brought them home on an impulse for Easter without realizing all that goes into having a rabbit as a pet.
Here is just a sampling of what these humans did not take into account when they brought that baby bunny home:
- Bunnies are a long-term commitment; if cared for properly a rabbit will be your pet for 8 to 14 years.
- Like cats and dogs, they should be spayed or neutered. If they are not, they are likely to develop bad habits and behavior issues as their hormones develop. Yes, male rabbits spray! Oh, and because “fixing” rabbits requires more specializzed knowledge, it is more expensive to do than it is for cats and dogs.
- Rabbits need to be socialized if you want them to be proper animal companions. They will be friendly, loving creatures, but only if you make the time for them.
- They also need more room than you might think. That tiny bunny will grow into an 8-lb. rabbit. They are more high maintenance than many kitties.
- If, and only if you know how to take care of them, bunnies are awesome pets and will give you years of companionship and fun.
If you are intrigued by the idea of having a bunny as a pet, now is a great time to find out more, since there will be many needing rescue in the days and weeks to come. Here are some links to rabbit sites so you can educate yourself before taking the plunge:
My House Rabbit
House Rabbit Society
Bunny and Cat photo by AlishaV
Now, you may be wondering if rabbits and cats can get along together, since in the wild they are prey and predator. The answer is yes! You need to make the proper introductions of course, but if done right, we kitties have personalities that can compliment a bunny’s. You will find some suggestions here:
House Rabbit Society — Cats and Rabbits
See all of Summer’s merch at her Designercat Shop, available on Zazzle.
We hope that not too many bunnies end up in shelters this Easter. Like many pets, we think people adopt them when they are little and very cute, and don’t think of having them as a lifetime responsibility and a part of their family.
Have a lovely week.
Julie and Poppy Q
xxx
What a great post. We love rabbits too but have never had any. We had some rabbits come over here from our neighbors and we(the cats) didn’t bother them except for the babies. Hope all of you have a super day
Good PSA, Sparkle. There’s a fairly new private rescue here in our city, just a few humans we think, but they specialize in small animals: rabbits, guinea pigs, etc. They take a lot of the ones that end up at our local shelter, actually (because of space issues, etc.).
We didn’t realize male rabbits sprayed, but that makes sense, given the innate urge to mark territory.
Yes, it’s a huge responsibility to take on the care of another Being, whether that Being be four-legged or two. We wish more humans would consider the ramifications first.
great article – we have seen so many bunnies come in after Easter and it is just sad….
I hope people take good care of the sweet bunnies!The pictures are gorgeous, you did a great reportage ( article ), thanks for sharing!
Luna
Thanks for this post, Sparkle. Humans think bunnies are so cute but they don’t realize that they are work too. Just a week or so ago, our mom was in the local pet store and someone had dropped a bunny off at the store…said they didn’t want it anymore. The bunny had longish furs and you could tell it was unkept. It made our mom very sad. We hope that sweet bunny finds a good furever home.
A lot of time people don’t think about what they are doing. Same thing happens with baby chicks at Easter. Then the chick is either mishandled and dies or grows to be a chicken and isn’t so cute any more.
Last year, I read the article about bunnies who were abandoned after Easter. Sadly, there are people who don’t realize bunnies are living creature….
Thank you for your great post.
We love bunnies and we had one visiting this morning!
🙁 My human volunteered at a no-kill shelter one weeked and was setting up to do a bake sale. She turned around, looked out the window, and saw a crate with a bunny in it that nobody knew nothing about, we weren’t even opened yet. It was chilly out so one of the vet tech brought the bunny in.
Oh, excellent information here. My Easter wish is this… that all bunnies who find themselves in need of a good forever home, get one.
Who knew!
Bunnies can be our friends!
purrs
>^,,^<
♥Abby♥Boo♥Ping♥Jinx♥Grace♥
great post, Sparkle! our mom would love to have a house bunny or two, but at least for now with us kitties and our doggy bro, it can’t be. We’ve seen some cool videos on Youtube of rabbits doing tricks and agility 😀 We hope people will also opt to adopt a rabbit if they are looking for one as a pet.
Pip, Smidgen, Minnie, Hollie
Great information Sparkle! Our mommy had bunnies when she was a kid and would like to have more one day. We’d like one to chase around!
We didn’t even think about bunnies in kill shelters.
Truffle and Brulee
An excellent post Sparkle. I’ll be purring for the poor bunnies.
That is so sad about lots of bunnies ending up in shelters. What a cute picture of the kitty and bunny.
We agree totally! People need to know they’re not just cute-for-a-holiday! Rabbits are “people” too (err…you know what we mean…)!!