You own a rabbit?? Ewwww!

[MyBoyHarper]

Is it just me, or do you sometimes get a weird glance, or a stupid comment, because you own a rabbit? I'm getting SO sick of these comments!

I was in a pet store awhile back buying Harper some food and a new toy. A lady goes: "Rabbit food? You own a rabbit?" I said yep, a 2 year old! She goes, "Ugh, I did that once. Stupid creatures. SO smelly, so disgusting. Never again!"

I wanted. to. smack. her!

Then, I had one in Target the other day ask about the panels I was buying for Harper's cage. I said I was building a rabbit cage with them. She goes, "Ewww, a rabbit? What a smelly animal, I would never own one of those. They'd make a mess of the yard." I said, well, mine stays in the house. He doesn't go outside. She was appalled!

I actually felt like an idiot too, which then made me feel bad because I am NOT ashamed of owning Harper. I am the absolute proudest bunny momma imagineable, and that boy is my baby. I hate it when people make stupid comments, or give you an ignorant glare because of owning an animal that is outside of the "norm". You know, because it's not a dog or a cat. Grrr, frustrating!

Anyone else ever deal with this?

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I deal more with the 'hey, you own supper?!' comment. My family finds it funny to call my rabbits supper. I mean, it bothers me but it's just a joke (mine you, one I'm getting annoyed with after almost 4 years).

And those are the kind of people you don't want own rabbits, they don't understand what truely amazing animals they are. I don't know, after having rabbits I'd much rather have them than a dog or cat any day!

 

[m.e.]

Never gotten an "eww" comment (those are usually reserved for when I tell them I own mice )

Mostly I get, "They're so boring" and people generally don't understand why I devote so much time, energy, and money into "dumb" bunnies :disgust:

 

[Haley]

I just get the "oh, uhuh" eyes glazing over kind of thing. Like im some crazy idiot for loving these kind and beautiful animals so much. Its almost like people dont appreciate their intelligence or think its a childish pet or something.

Yeah, and I get the dinner thing from some people..grr

 

[Spring]

Ugg. I get really snarky if someone says something totally perventable and untrue if you give a **** like "they're smelly". Uh yeah, if you would clean the cage more often and better, they don't stink!You'd stink too if someone didn't flush the toilet for week. If someone ever said eww you own a rabbit I'd say darn well I do! People are so closed minded about rabbits, probably 90% would like them if they stopped being such ignorant jerks saying they're dumb or smelly!

I don't mind if people say 'rabbit stew' or something stupid like thatI just reply to what ever animal they own "Mm, cat soup! Or Mmm, bbq dog!". They usually say stuff like your sick, but I just say well your sick too for calling my rabbit stew.

Probably the worst comment someone told me that got me so angry was saying it's cruel to keep them indoors I should turn them looseoutside.I didn't even waste my time explaining anything, I just walked away.My brothers also said I should shoot the stupid things, he'd buy the bullets.

Why don't people understand rabbits are great pets.. I agree 100% MBB, I'd take a rabbit over a dog or cat anyday! People can just be so ignorant.

 

[MyBoyHarper]

Spring, I've gotten that same comment from my 'brother' before too. Such an idiot. I own a dog and a cat, but Harper is my baby. I love my dog and cat too, but Harper and I have a special bond. I guess because he's a rescue, and I can tell that he knows he was rescued. And he has such a personality. He's a little "I'm the man of the house!" type attitude, mixed with a lot of love and affection. Most people don't see that, they just see a plain rabbit that they think should be sitting in a pot for dinner, or outside in a pen not big enough for a guinea pig.

I remember working at the pet store, I had this habit of analyzing each person that came in. I would look at them buying rodent or rabbit stuff, and could tell they were so clueless. I always thought to myself, "What if Harper would've ended up with them instead of me? What type of life would he have, or not have?"

 

[maherwoman]

Lol...I know what you mean. I have a friend that when he saw them for the first time said, "You know what they remind me of? Hasenpfeffer!" And then he laughed. Coulda smacked him!

Not only that, but when I rescued Flower, another acquaintence of mine (the girl I recently wrote that thing about bypassing me with my daughter) said, "ANOTHER rabbit? Oh gawwwd..." and sighed. I thought it was rather rude, personally...but she makes really rude comments quite often, so it was pretty much expected. She has five cats (between her and her parents), and never really pays them much attention, so I'm not surprised she didn't find the bunnies cute. She's just not the type. Funny, too, because her husband opens Flower's cage, sticks his head in, cuddles with her, pets her, and so on. It's SO CUTE because he's one of those kinds of guys that's intent on proving his maculinity, but he gets straight down on all fours to spend time with the bunnies. It's adorable...

Anyway, I know what you mean...though I don't understand how someone can take one look at a bunny and not have their heart automatically and utterly MELT!! They're so beautiful and adorable and cuddly and sweet!!

Goofy humans....they just don't know a great thing when they see it!!

 

[MyBoyHarper]

Hijacking my own thread to see if my avatar works... LOL

 

[Spring]

OO.. I love your avatar! So awesome .

 

[sparklyyy]

Ugh.

All too familiar.

My aunt is here visiting from out of town, and her first response upon seeing Zeke was that he "smells." She was disgusted. Doesn't just about every other animal have some sort of odor? I personally find that Zeke's food and hay has a strong scent, but not so much Zeke himself. My other aunt constantly rambles about how wonderful her dogs are, but groaned when I told her about Zeke. "Ugh, you got another rabbit?"

I also go absolutely crazy with showering Zeke with love (as I KNOW all of you do with your bun(s)! My friends look at me like I'm nuts, whereas it's perfectly acceptable and commonplace when they do that with their dogs or cats.

I hate to think about the kind of responses I will get one day regarding the sadness I will exhibit when Zeke passes. If someone's dog dies, it's the end of the world. Showers of sympathy. But saying, "my rabbit died!" seems like only eyebrows would be raised.

And every once in a while, my dad will say, "he would make a nice hat." He's TOTALLY joking, but... c'mon! Others have also made rabbit stew jokes to me.

Wow, I feel a lot better now that I vented... haha. I'm almost comforted by the fact that others have faced somewhat adverse or confused reactions to their rabbit ownership. We need to educate people about the fact that rabbits are the best. pets. ever!

Erin

 

[Spring]

Hehe. My dog probably smells worse then my rabbits ever would! My family, excluding my brothers are pretty good, even my dad reaches down when Pebbles is out to give her a pat. He still says "Saddle up!" Because when Pebbles was growing her face was almost the same shape as a horses (still is!)

Whenmy relatives came to visit the girls, even my uncles and older guy cousins liked the buns. Most just said they were cute and spoiled, but my uncle was baby talkingto Pepsi- think of a big sailor mouthed farmer baby talking to an under 3lbitsy bitsy bun.I thought it was the most manly thing anyman could do!

Hopefuly be 2010 more people will be educated about rabbits. Think even 10 years ago how little the houserabbit owning community had been, it's just BOOMED in the last few years!

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

Yep, I get those comments, but not directly. A lot of people in my schoolgo hunting so ifrabbits ever come up in conversation it's abouthow "my dog bought in a rabbit last week and I was so proudof him but then I found out he had myxi and was going to die anyway!":disgust:It's sooo annoying!:growl:How come rabbits are seen as second class animals compared to dogs and cats? It doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[Spring]

I know, I guess because they have this dumb false reputation people think of them as boring animals that sit in cages all day and do nothing.

 

[Eve]

Spring wrote:

I know, I guess because they have this dumb false reputation people think of them as boring animals that sit in cages all day and do nothing.

Thatseems to bethe attitude most people I have come across have about rabbits here.

Rabbits as indoor house petsdon't seemtoo common in Australia. I've had people in pet storesadvise me that my bunnies would be better off being kept outside in a rediculously tiny hutch because they "prefer it that way".

If I kept my precious bunnies in such an environment, I wouldnever havegotten to know their unique personalities and how special they are.

 

[tadpolephobic]

Volunteering in the small animal room at the shelter I get every imaginable comment about my little furries. Sometimes it really does make you want to scream and rant (esp. if they catch you on a bad day).
I get a lot of people who come in and immediately say "eww. it smells like rabbit." I always say that first off part of what they are smelling is other rodents and birdsin the room, and second of all, how do they expect it to smell with 12 cages and only one volunteer in there most days? We simply don't have time to clean every cage every time someone doesn't use their litterbox and in a room that size with so many bunnies they are all bound to do it to mark territory.
I get a lot of dinner and pet food comments, I even got one when I went into a pet store to buy something for my Tabitha while she was sick. The sales person said something worked for all rodents and so I informed him they aren't rodents, his fellow associate said, "Oh I didn't know that. Where I come from they're not pets, they're pet food." He continued on to tell me how he dated "a bunny person all through high school. She still hates me." When I just stood there and glared he got embarassed and walked away. Next time I went in he made a point of coming up to ask how my girls were doing, I could tell he felt bad.
I think regretfully part of owning a bunny is getting use to the comments and strange looks and the fact that even when people ask a question, their eyes often glaze over and they lose interest before you even open your mouth. The way I look at it is all worth it when I can convince even one person that yes they make wonderful pets and if they just bring "fluffy" in from the yard, he can be a part of the family.

Stephanie

 

[bunnydude]

Really!? I usually get quite the opposite. Like one woman in petsmart seemed quite interested when she saw us buying a bunch of rabbit supplies. People in the grocery store will also say that we must love veggies, but when we tell them it's for our rabbits, they kind of perk up and ask questions. My family always wants to see them when they come by. Even my dad, who is NOT an animal person, enjoys watching them when we set up the exercize pen in the family room.

The only negative comment I can remember getting was from a neighbor. She had bought two bunnies for her kids and threw them in a hutch in the back corner of the garage. The kids would carry those poor bunnies around the house in a bird cage - like some sort of toy. We were trying to reform their attitudes towards rabbits and to show them how to take better care of them. We told the mom we kept them inside, and she started making all sorts of nasty comments, like "I found maggots in their cage tray, disgusting little animals." Well, yeah... if you never clean the pan and keep them in a hot garage with no air circulation! Unfortunately, both bunnies passed away just months later. The kids gave one a heart attack. The other was found frozen to death beneath the deck in the middle of winter, she got out.

 

[Bassetluv]

Bunnydude, that's awful...those poor little rabbits. Unfortunately with many pets, they meet their demise at the hands of those who either lose interest quickly, or simply don't know or care enough about the species to care for them properly.

I think a large part of the problem with pets is, many adults get them for their children...either thinking it will be a great idea, or they are giving in to the constant begging ('Can we get one...PLLEEEEEEAASSEE??? We promise to take care of it'). So they go to a pet store, purchase a rabbit/hamster/gerbil/degu/who knows what, and tote it home...with no idea what it takes to care for them, and very often with the pet store employee not asking if they do know what to do (and often the employee doesn't have a clue either). Then, once they realize that having a pet other than a dog or cat involves cage cleaning, regular exercise, and attention, the animal is deemed as either too much work, or too smelly, or 'it just sits there'...on and on.

Then there is this scenario as well: My ex brother-in-law is okay at cleaning the cages and feeding the animals he keeps for his children (usually a rat, a mouse or two, and a hamster), but he is so lax at having rules for his kids that they do whatever they please...including whatever they want to do with the pets. My niece, who is now eight, had been through at least 5 hamsters when she was 6-7 years old. She would tote them all over the house with her, and generally maul them to death. She was never taught how to handle an animal, how to respect it, or given any restrictions - such as, 'you're too young to be doing this, let daddy'. Her brother used to do the same thing with their pet rat...a beautiful, very friendly creature. One day my nephew decided he wanted to give the rat a bath after he'd hauled it all over the place, and his father found him in the bathroom with the rat shivering away in a sink full of freezing water. The poor little guy became quite sick after that, and was still toted around by the kids until the day he died, a couple of months later. As a result their backyard is now a graveyard to many lost little souls. So I guess if I had one thing to rant about, that would be it...people getting pets and then ignoring them, abandoning them, or allowing their children to maul them.

Anyway, as to the question of what kind of comments I get? Mostly I get oooh's and aahhh's over owning bunnies, and often people will tell me excitedly that they have one too, or they had one growing up. The only negative comments I get are given in gest...those of having rabbit stew for dinner. And the only really cruel comment I received, believe it or not, came from a friend. When my little rabbit, Lucky, died last Christmas - he had severe diarrhea and bloating - I had to go to my sister's dinner party the next evening. It was a gathering of a few friends from work (my sis and I work at the same place, hence, the same friends), and as I was helping to serve dinner (and trying not to cry over Lucky), my friend asked about him. When someone told her that Lucky had died, she began laughing heartily and said, "What...did his stomach explode? HAHAHAHA!" She knew that he'd had a distended belly from the diarrhea, as I had been telling her about Lucky in the days before that. One of the other women reminded her that I was still sensitive about it, and she said, "Well I'm sorry, but it's funny!" That had to be one of the cruelest things ever said to me. Needless to say, we no longer associate with one another.

Fortunately though, I find most people love to hear that I have a rabbit for a pet. And aside from the rabbit stew comments (which don't bother me in the least; I know they are not said in an unkind manner), and the one nasty one from my ex-friend, I've only been met with kindness over them.

 

[bunnydude]

That's exactly what happened with these people. The kids were taught no respect for animals. They've been through close to 15 hamsters, two of which were eaten by their cats.

And so sorry to hear about that insensitive comment regarding Lucky:X

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I always wondered why rabbits were 'second class pets' as well. I mean look atthe pet supply market. Despite the fact that rabbits are a VERY popular pet, they still do not have easily accessable and safeproducts for the animals.

Even my friend who I got both Mocha and Spice from makes comments to me. A few times she'll say "you still have rabbits?" and when I got Zoey she was like "you're getting another? Why?"

Some people really annoy me...

 

[allison]

Well, around here a lot of people have rabbits. I think they are thought of more as childrens pets that are meant to be left outside in a hutch though. A lot of people don't realize how depressed rabbits get when they are just left outside and nobody plays with them.

I had a lot of pets as a child and was taught how to handle them and was always supervised with them. I had 4 southern flying squirels, 4 lizzards, 2 dogs, and arabbit named Angel. I had them all at different times though. Like at once I had 3 lizzards, a squirell, and a rabbit. Then 2 lizzards and the squirrel died within a few months of each other and I had another lizzard and 3 more squirrels then my rabbit died. :'( I was about 10 and we were goingout of town and the people who were babysitting the rabbit were keeping it in thier garage, I asked my mom "Isn't there fumes in the garage?" and she said it would be okay. I believed her of course because she's my mom but when we came back from the vacation we got a call from the lady who babysat her and she said that Angel had died. But angel was around 8 so she lived a good life up until then.