Mom Won't Let Rabbits Indoors

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Cibaria

New Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2017
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
NULL
I have three Rabbits, two females (Nugget and Egg) and one male (Winter). The two females are lionhead rabbits,I think, and I'm unsure about the male, although I don't think this has anything to do with the fact that they're not allowed indoors.

My Mom agreed to get the three rabbits as everything was free. The rabbits, the hutch, the run, the food, the bedding, even brushes and a mat to put on top of the run when it was sunny, was all free. This is the only reason she's agreed, and these rabbits are my first (mammal) pets ever. We got these rabbits three weeks ago, and Nugget and Winter are already warming up to me, although Egg is pregnant, and doesn't enjoy being touched, she will come over to you if you open the door to the hutch and have food in your hand. We can't afford to spay them. :cry1:

Anyway, the problem is that my mom won't allow the rabbits in the house. We don't have a garage, or a shed, or really any room with enough space that we could keep them in. Even if we did, my mom wouldn't allow them in. I've tried convincing her that they could roam around the house like cats or dogs, but she says no. That's it. All she says is "no", and when I ask why she replies with "because I said so". When I ask her calmly she tells me to stop 'whining'. When I ask her any other way she'll tell me to stop having an attitude.

I've told her that they'll get cold, or over heat. She believes that they belong outside because they're "outdoor animals", but I feel so bad for them. I can't bond with them because the only way I can come face to face with them is if I stand at their hutch and hope that they're on the top floor, otherwise I'm towering over them. With the run, the "door" is at the top, so I can't open it and allow them to come over. I can't sit down anywhere and let them walk around me so they can trust me, and I can't play with them in any way.

I really hate myself for it. I feel like it's my fault that I can't play with them, or that they're not allowed in the house. I feel like it's my fault that they have to endure freezing temperatures at night, and have to endure storms. I really don't know what to do. I don't know how I could even become 'friends' with my rabbits, because the only way I can 'play' with them is by holding them and putting them on my lap. Even then I feel bad for it. :cry1:

I really don't know what to do or how to convince her. Just letting them indoors inside of a large dog crate in the kitchen at night would make me feel better, because I know that they wouldn't have to be sitting outside in a hutch with cats trying to get in and dogs barking from all sides.

Please help
 
Well...

My suggestion would be that you put a fence around the hutches, so you can let them out and be with them. It also keeps cats at distance, once there's nothing to get easily at mostly they don't bother. They are easily discouraged by being stomped at by the buns. The rabbits absolutly do not care about dogs barking somewhere, they are very good in judging what an actual threat is and what not.

House bunnies can mean a lot of work, bunny proofing everything, all cables, all that's wood, and every floor that can be damaged by pee. It also can mean a lot of cleaning up. They can put up quite a racket during the night, and their hay gets everywhere. It's really a stretch to expect someone who isn't willing expect to live with indoor free roaming rabbits, that's a lot you ask there.

I had a doe in my apartment for 8 months (Myxo quarantine), she reduced all plinth, wood and PVC alike to splinters and flakes, severed every USB cable she encountered, tried to kill me twice by removing insulation from power cords, and then started to dig a tunnel, straight into the wall, after 2" of plaster the bricks stopped her.

Ok, my Black Fury isn't the typical house bunny, now my buck (2 yo, not neutered) lives in my house - completly different, perfectly housebroken, ignores cables, doesn't gnaw on wood - but he's inside for only 10 days now and gets a lot of garden time.

So, as I said, for now I'd rather improve their current situation than insisting on getting them inside. They can deal very well with cold when they have windproof shelter, hay and hidy-houses. Hot weather is the bigger concern.

Since I live alone I can do what I want, and it's my house, so my rabbits can do whatever I'm willing to take, that's more complicated when the situation is otherwise.

Also, rabbits do not like being moved, better let them stay in their place, wherever it is.
 
Last edited:
I can totally understand how you feel. I was the same way when I was living with my parents :)

But now that I'm older and have my own house, I realize why my parents were the way they were!

I have two house rabbits. I'm lucky that they haven't chewed the baseboards, but they have both taken out patches of carpet... and my female continues to do so every now and then, despite the ~5 months of daily work I spent with her trying to train her to not chew it.

Now, as an adult, I have the freedom of chosing to keep my rabbits inside. However, as an adult, I now have the responsibility of replacing all the carpet before I will be able to sell my house. I'm currently planning on having to spend around $3,000 total to do this. If they decide to chew baseboards or other expensive stuff, that'll be even more money :(

My recommendation is to try to come to a compromise with your mom (can they come inside sometimes? what if they behave well? you'll be with them every minute to make sure they don't chew anything and clean up any mess, too). But do try to understand that paying for new furniture, house repairs, and other stuff can be rather expensive -- and I have a feeling she would rather spend the money on you and your future :)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top