Introduction
Hello friends! Welcome back to cutierab where we talk about all things bunny. So today’s topic is all about: should you get a rabbit? Today I will tell you the things to know before getting a rabbit, but before you even have a rabbit, you need to do a little bit of thinking about yourself and your life and just, are you ready for this?
Do You Have Space for a Rabbit?
So, the first question you want to ask yourself when you get any pet is: where is that pet going to live, and do I have the space for it? On this site, we are actively against putting bunnies in cages. Bunnies were not born to live in cages. They were not born to live in confinement. They are active little creatures; they need the space to play. As long as they have the space to run and play and express themselves openly and freely, then they’re going to be fine. But free-roaming a rabbit takes more than just having the space; it takes looking at the space you have and thinking, can I let a little fluffy chew monster run free in this space? That’s the question you need to ask yourself. You can also read “how much space do bunny needs”
I cannot tell you how many times I have gotten DMs saying, “Hi, I have a bunny, and I want to free roam it so badly, but my parents won’t let me. We have all this nice furniture. I can’t do it. I’m not allowed to have this, this, or this, so I just can’t. I just can’t let my bunny out of its cage.” They ask me what to do in these scenarios, and I don’t know. Things like this, it’s like the only thing that I can really tell you to do is you should have thought about this before you brought an animal into your house. If you do not have a space that is appropriate for the pet you’re getting, then your space is never going to change. The animal is not going to change; the animal is just going to be miserable. So, if you have anything in your home where, if something were to get to it and ruin it, it would truly ruin your life, you either need to block it off, or you need to think, do I want an animal running around in this home where this thing could potentially get destroyed?
I have some rooms that she is not allowed in because there’s nice furniture in there, but then there are other rooms that are just totally good for her. So that’s kind of what I have done. But I really, really recommend that you just look at the space, whether you’re in an apartment, a studio, a house, a condo, whatever. Look at where you’re going to be. Make sure you have at least one room where your bunny can comfortably play and look at everything you own and say, am I willing to let a bunny potentially take a bite out of this? Because here’s the truth: even if you bunny-proof your home, they’re probably going to get a nibble in every once in a while.
Does Your Schedule Fit a Rabbit’s Needs?
Next, you need to think about your personal schedule and your work-life balance, your school-life balance, whatever that is. Rabbits are not independent creatures at all. They are very bonded to their owners; they’re bonded to other bunnies. You can also read “how to bond with your rabbit” They need constant attention. Now, what’s nice about rabbits is they are crepuscular, which means that they sleep during the afternoon and they’re most active in the morning and at night. So they’re actually really great for a nine to five or for going to school. But what you need to evaluate is, are you away from home more than that six to eight-hour chunk of the day? Let’s say that you go to school, but then you have a lot of sports after school and you’re traveling a lot on the weekends. Let’s say you’re working and after work you love going to happy hour almost every night, you love to travel every weekend. These are the things you need to start asking yourself because if you’re going to be away from your bunny for 10-12 hours every single day or almost every day, your bunny’s going to get really lonely and really depressed. So in situations like that, you either, one, need to have a partner for them so that they aren’t alone, or two, you shouldn’t bring a bunny into that type of lifestyle. There’s nothing wrong with that lifestyle at all, but that lifestyle is not ready to have something that’s depending on them when you’re not even going to be home. You can also read “how long can you leave a rabbit alone”.
Can You Have Other Pets with a Bunny?
So, the next topic I want to go ahead and say it’s super general and I’m just going to be speaking extremely hypothetically here because I’m going to be talking about other pets with your bunny. It’s hard to make a hard and fast rule on if you have one pet, can you have a bunny? Because;
- every animal is different,
- every bunny is different,
- every dog is different,
- every cat, depending on their personality, their training, their breed, their size,
it’s just like so many things, right? My thoughts on having other pets with bunnies is because bunnies are prey animals, it is their instinct to be afraid of other things. And dogs and cats, they’re predators, so biologically they’re wired to hunt prey animals. I’m not saying that they will, but usually, what I would recommend is if you want other pets, get the bunny first. Raise your bunny, let it be comfortable with you, and as you’re looking at other animals, find animals that aren’t like hunting breeds and introduce them to your bunny as a baby. That way, the bunny is comfortable in the space, the bunny can kind of be like, “Look, this is my territory that you’re coming into,” and you can raise this animal understanding that this bunny is his friend, not food.
Not to mention, having a predator around can just also like heighten your bunny’s senses and that prey instinct. So it really takes a lot of training, it takes a really strong understanding of what your rabbit is comfortable with. I’m not saying it can’t be done. It totally can. It’s just, it’s hard, and I wouldn’t recommend diving headfirst into that, especially if you’re a first-time bunny owner.
Can You Afford a Rabbit?
Next thing I want to touch on is the finances. So yes, bunnies cost money. If you get a baby bunny, you’re going to have to pay in a few months to get your bunny spayed and neutered, which is upwards of hundreds of dollars. You need to pay for wellness checks each year. You never know when an emergency is going to come up, plus you’re paying for their food each week. The way that people handle their money and the way you handle your finances is 1,000% your decision. But you know when they talk about in relationships like you can’t love someone else until you love yourself? I think a lot of that is true with finances as well.
So, if you can’t responsibly take care of yourself, you can’t responsibly put money aside for a bunny emergency fund each month, it isn’t worth bringing another life into that as well. It’s only going to add extra stress for you. I will get DMs saying like, “Hey, my bunny is sick, but I can’t afford to take them to the vet. Hey, I want to get my bunny spayed, but I can’t afford it, what should I do?” And I don’t know what to say to stuff like that. Like, I’m so sorry and I feel for you, and financial stress is hard and really scary, but you should have thought about this before you brought an animal in. Now of course financial things can change in a heartbeat, but as like a standard line, you need to know when you’re bringing this animal in that you should have money set aside each month. Bunnies cost money; you need to make sure that you can afford to take care of it. Simple as that. You can also read “how much does a pet bunny cost”.
Are You Ready for a 10-Year Commitment?
It is time for my last point, and I know that this has been an introspective journey. It can raise two question:
- Am I responsible enough to do this?
- Am I willing to do this for 10 years?
I think maturity a lot of times has nothing to do with age. I know some 25-year-olds who are way more immature than some 16-year-olds out there. It’s not as much an age thing. It’s much more of look at yourself right now.
- Can you see yourself with this bunny in 10 years?
- Can you see yourself still loving this bunny and being able to care for it in 10 years?
- Are you in a position right now where your life is about to drastically change and bringing another living being along with you seems really scary and really hard to do?
- Are you someone who wants to travel a lot in the next couple of years and you don’t want to have to worry about finding a pet sitter and caring for an animal?
So if you’re in high school looking at a bunny, this is something that you’re going to have to take to college. Think about that. Think about how stressful that could be for a bunny. If you are just getting out of college and you want to get a bunny, but you don’t really know what you want to do with your life yet, think about this animal. You’re going to have to deal with it as you travel around, work through new jobs, figure out that new world. I know it’s really, really hard when you’re looking at this baby bunny and all you want to do is love it and have it forever, but to give it the best life, you need to devote some of your life to this animal. They are not a toy; they are not to be thrown away. They are a commitment. They are a living being that you are now responsible for.
Conclusion
So, if after going through all of that, you are like, “Alright, I think I can make this work,” then it’s time to make it work. Stay tuned on this site. If you want to know everything about bunny, I am here for you. I want to support you. And again, the most important thing, if you take anything away from this, is not where you got your bunny, not the life that you’re living, but just the life that you are giving this rabbit.
That’s all for today. Hope you now understand the things to know before getting a rabbit. Always keep it mind, every life is important. Thanks for reading.