Any pet rabbit owners?

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SeekerJen

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Okay, this is a little odd- but it’s been an odd week.

Last night about 11:30pm, our cats started going nuts, rushing from window to window. My husband figured it was one of the neighbors’ cats and went to chase it off. Turns out it was a beautiful brown and white bunny. It was obviously a pet, it had no fear of us and even came up to eat carrots out of our hands. We know that one of the neighbors has a rabbit and possibly it just got out of the yard, so we left another carrot and went to bed. This morning the carrot was gone and we found the bunny under my car, shivering and filthy. It came right out when it saw that I had another carrot, and my husband grabbed it and set it in a cat-carrier. It has some veggies and rodent chow and water now, so it should be okay for a few hours.

My question is this: if the rabbit doesn’t belong to the neighbors, we’ll probably be keeping it for a few days (in case someone else in the neighborhood has lost it) until we can get it to our friend (rescues/rehabs animals as a second job). Any tips on caring for it?

(I’m still chuckling a bit over God’s rather droll sense of humor. We’ve been praying that I would get pregnant, and when I found out again this month that I wasn’t, prayed again for God to grant us a new life to take care of. This wasn’t really what I had in mind! 😃 )
 
Cute story- God works in mysterious ways, huh?!?! 🙂 It’s great that you see his work in your life!

I have guinea pigs, and though rabbits are a little different, it sounds like you’re on the right track! Lettuce, carrots, rabbit chow, water, and some love and he should be fine! My guinea pigs eat more than I’d have thought with their small size…about a cup of fresh veggies a day is recommended.

Have fun!
 
Thanks, Hearye.

I finally managed to get one of our other neighbors on the phone (she’s next to the possible rabbit owners) and she told me that this is probably her neighbors’ rabbit. The cage is empty and it fits the description. So looks like I won’t need to fuss with rabbit chow.

Only problem is…I want to keep it! Maybe we’ll eventually get a rabbit of our own. My husband certainly seems interested.
 
well it sounds like you have the found the rabbit’s home. that’s good.

i have a rabbit myself, had her since she was 7 weeks old and she’s now 7 years old! it’s funny how attached i am to a rabbit, but she’s my buddy.

anyway, if you need it, rabbit pellets are fine food and they’re pretty cheap and they like timothy hay too, both of which can be found at pet stores. the rabbit pellets i can even get at my local hardware store.

rabbits are a funny pet… ours lives in a cage in our house with us and she’s litter trained just like a cat. we let her out only when we’re around since she has taken a liking to munching on our carpet! but she hops around and sniffs whatever she can get her nose into. then when she gets pooped out, she’ll spread out on the living room floor and relax. she’s so fun…

anyways, hope everything works out with this bunny. 🙂
 
I remember seeing on the Animal Planet network, that there is a lady who rescues rabbits. I don’t know her name or web site but you could probably google it. She has many up for adoption that are lovable (not wild) too.
 
I love rabbits, but I’ve never had one as a pet (always had cats and dogs, and they seem to think all smaller animals are just lively toys!). The info you’ve gotten here is pretty solid, except that I would disagree with feeding a rabbit lettuce. A breeder I spoke with several years ago made it absolutely clear that unless you want a rabbit sick with diarrhea, don’t ever feed the little guy lettuce. Also, make sure they have lots of things to chew (they love wood and electric wires, so be sure to rabbit-proof your house), and have a salt lick available. If you do decide on a rabbit as a pet, I’m sure you won’t regret it. They can be so funny, and very lovable.
Have a great day!
Judy
 
Here’s a good pet adoption site if you decide to get a furry monster of your own… I adopted a dog from one of the shelters in my area that lists on this site.

petfinder.com/pet.cgi

…careful…it’s a slipper-slope…For me, first it was the baby guinea pig from a friend who bought a “male” guinea pig that kept getting bigger until one day there were 4 tiny guinea pigs in the cage with ‘him’…then I got his buddy who was abandoned at a pet store and I couldn’t resist…then by a series of events I recently find myself ‘mom’ to a 13 year old nearly blind, nearly deaf doggie that my best friend was fostering…and somehow I have 10 fish too…now I’m WAY over the usual “pets-to-people ratio” for my house!! I sound a little like I must be some kind of a weirdo too with my menagerie … 🙂 They’re all fun, and blessings too.
 
Thanks to everyone for the advice. I really appreciate it.

Update: the rabbit is back in her own cage. Unfortunately, it has left us with a rather unsettled feeling, as the bunny appeared to be frightened to go back in her own cage. Not that I can blame her- there was no food, bedding or toys in the cage. It’s sad because she wasn’t afraid of us, our cats, the neighbor who let us into the yard (the bunny’s owners weren’t home), his 2-year-old who kept grabbing at the bunny, that neighbor’s dogs, etc. She was friendly and energetic until she got a glimpse of her cage, at which point she started shaking all over and cowered in the back of our carrier. She had come right out of the carrier to eat a carrot from my hand after we got home from work; when we got her back into her own yard my husband actually had to dismantle the carrier to take her out- she couldn’t be coaxed and was fighting him.

Right now we know we did all we could and we can’t really say anything to our neighbors. It’s not our pet, and these particular neighbors are the type that resent any outside interference. I’m almost hoping the bunny ends up in our yard again so we have a reason to talk to them.
 
oohhh, the poor bunny. I can understand your “unsettling” feelings. i will pray that the owners realize the need for proper care of this little animal.

and i don’t want this to sound condescending, but thank you for all you did to take care of the little guy. i have a soft spot for bunnies, and anyone who does right by them is “OK” in my book! 🙂

God bless you and your family!
 
Funny you should bring this up today. My Mom has a house-rabbit. It is litter-box trained, and has free reign of the house, just like a cat or dog. It’s a pretty good pet, but it does chew things up a lot. I suppose that could be a training issue. The reason I think it’s ironic that you brought it up today is that I just got an email from my Mom that they will have to put the bunny down. My sister played with it a little too roughly, and damaged its spine. She’s been praying for a miracle, because Rachel is actually a foster child who they are hoping to adopt and she has had all sorts of issues with her abusive natural parents, legal gymnastics, ADD, and other problems. She really didn’t mean to hurt the animal and is feeling terrible about it. I’m going to say a special prayer for her today.
 
Hi. We are the proud owners of a young brown rabbit named Whiskers. I must say that they make wonderful pets. They are so easy going and just love to sniff everything. My three sons love him and the bunny loves them too. They like to hide in tight spots and love boxes with holes in them to crawl through. They love being rubbed all over their heads and ears. Thats what bunnies do to each other and I have read that its a sign of friendship. Whiskers chose to use a litter pan similair to what a cat uses. It does not mind leaving little surprises all over the floor however but it is still young and we have read that he will stop doing that eventually. I would recomend a rabbit to anyone.
 
I love rabbits! I only have a stuffed animal rabbit though. I have a question though about cats. My neighbor has several animals, and just yesterday their cat was in my yard. I went out to get it out of our yard, and it came to me, and it loves me very much! It came to me right away and followed me. It was meowing and I noticed there were many sanburrs on it. (Poor thing) I didn’t want to hurt it more so I just left them on. (Several sanburrs were really caught in its fur) I got my neighbor (one of their kids) to get the cat, and she started to drag it by its’ tail:mad: it was such a sad sight, the cat was going wild. This is what I would call abuse. Is there anything I can/should do?
 
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I love rabbits! I only have a stuffed animal rabbit though. I have a question though about cats. My neighbor has several animals, and just yesterday their cat was in my yard. I went out to get it out of our yard, and it came to me, and it loves me very much! It came to me right away and followed me. It was meowing and I noticed there were many sanburrs on it. (Poor thing) I didn’t want to hurt it more so I just left them on. (Several sanburrs were really caught in its fur) I got my neighbor (one of their kids) to get the cat, and she started to drag it by its’ tail:mad: it was such a sad sight, the cat was going wild. This is what I would call abuse. Is there anything I can/should do?
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ask if you can have the cat? :love:
 
When I first saw you thread, I misread it as “Any pet rabbi owners.” Guess I should step away from religion for a while :yup:
 
Seeker Jen,

What if you stop by regularly “just to visit” your new bunny friend & its owners? (Bring treats for rabbit & people, etc.)
I knew someone who had the same “unsettled” feeling about a dog & the family situation; she befriended the family & before long could see that it really was NOT a good situation for the dog…she would always tell them, “Oh, if you EVER decide you need a babysitter for this doggie, you just let me know! I think she’s just WONDERFUL!”
The family eventually gave her the dog, & my friend & the doggie have been inseperable ever since.
 
My grey dwarf bundle of fun is named Lenny. He can be a handful at times, but he brightens up even the most gloomy December day.

Lenny does do one thing that I do not understand. After he has been out of his cage for a time, and I put my hand out before him, he will put his ears back, and his tail will either stick straight out or straight up and he will charge. Lenny is not neutered so I don’t know if doing so would stop this aggressive behavior.

Does anyone know what would trigger this type of response in Lenny and if it could be stopped?
 
Funny this should pop back up. We actually did get to talk to these neighbors at a party this weekend (we rarely see them). They thanked us profusely for taking care of their rabbit, and explained that their daughter had fed the rabbit earlier that day and had not fastened the latch back up. The kids were heartbroken and the parents didn’t expect to see the bunny again, so they were amazed to come home to find the bunny safe and sound. The mom has taken over feeding duties, and they brought the bunny in for the winter. So I guess all is well, or at least better. 🙂

I think I will send over a couple of bunny toys or treats for the kids to give to the rabbit when I send over a Christmas gift for the family.
 
We had a wonderful Rabbit named “Thumper”,once upon a time. Unfortunately, one of the neighbor kids put their cat in the cage with it, while we were out to a block party. We had left him in our fenced yard in his cage to get some sunshine. :crying: :crying:

To this day I have nightmares of what the cat did to our beautiful rabbit. We had to have it put to sleep. It was horrible. Cat’s and rabbits don’t mix. :eek:
 
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Marie:
We had a wonderful Rabbit named “Thumper”,once upon a time. Unfortunately, one of the neighbor kids put their cat in the cage with it, while we were out to a block party. We had left him in our fenced yard in his cage to get some sunshine. :crying: :crying:

To this day I have nightmares of what the cat did to our beautiful rabbit. We had to have it put to sleep. It was horrible. Cat’s and rabbits don’t mix. :eek:
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Uh, well, they TRY sometimes!!😉 We have a beautiful male house bunny. We let him out periodically to get some exercise in the house. We also have a female cat. Boy bunny is absolutely convinced girl cat is really a girl rabbit (either that or that he is boy cat!!). So both animals get lots of exercise - the bunny chasing the cat, and the cat trying not to get caught!!:love:
 
my brother’s kids have a rabbit named Stu, he has no personality except grouchiness (probably gets it from my brother), and drops little pebbles all over the house. If he were my rabbit he would be somebody else’s rabbit real soon.
 
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