free-range house bunnies

[EthiopianFood]

Does anyone here have a rabbit that they allow to roam the house like a cat? I think this idea is very interesting, and would consider a rabbit if I didn't have to worry about an animal being unsocialized unless I take it out of its cage. Can a rabbit be almost like a cat, rather than a large hamster?

[specialmama]

My grandparents did this. They raised rabbits and always let one live in the house. The main problem is that they don't get out of the way like cats do, usually, and they can startle to death quite easily. Although they can be litter trained, don't expect Mr. Flopsy to cuddle or play like Mr. Mouser.

[Peela]

I had a couple of big lop eared rabbits who were semi house trained by their previous owners. They were just awesome, so friendly, would sit in your lap like a cat, woudl come when called (and lets face it not all cats do that).

But...being semi housetrained was not quite good enough :) The rabbit pellets were ok to deal with but the pee wasnt. Yes, they do tend to go in the one place most of the time....but most wasnt all.

[Ottakee]

My girls have 3 rabbits and while they are in their cages most of the time, they are allowed to run around while the girls supervise them. They also cuddle them while watching TV, reading, etc.

 

You do need to make SURE that you protect all power cords as rabbits are chewers.

 

Does anyone here have a rabbit that they allow to roam the house like a cat? I think this idea is very interesting, and would consider a rabbit if I didn't have to worry about an animal being unsocialized unless I take it out of its cage. Can a rabbit be almost like a cat, rather than a large hamster?

[Pamela H in Texas]

We had a rabbit (a rex) who was litter box trained. The cat wasn't so sure about him (always seemed to be asking him, "what's the deal with the ears?"), but he just hopped around the house similar to a cat. Our house was animal-proof though as we also had ferrets. And we just caged the rabbit when we left (much like kenneling the pit bull we had at the time also).

 

This was years ago. We had a zoo! It sounds funny to mention it now! Now we have one little lap dog.

[Closeacademy]

We do. She sleeps in her cage at night and we have her blocked from the bedrooms & bathroom. But during the day when we are home, she gets to just be loose in the house.

 

I did cover up/block all cords--she will chew them. She also has litter boxes scattered around the house. She gets it 90% of the time for liquids but leaves pellets outside to mark her space. They sweep up very easily and don't smell.

 

She is such a happy bunny. She will lay at our feet and asks to be held. Whenever anyone opens the refridgerator door, she comes running and then slides in front of it and then stands on her hind legs to beg for treats (carrots mostly).

 

She does get under feet sometimes but we have learned to watch for her and walk around/over her. I don't know how many times I've almost tripped over her. We have cats too and they just ignore her. She goes right up to them and they run away. It's kind of funny.

 

We love having a house rabbit.:001_smile:

[Cera]

We have a litter box trained rabbit. It is a dwarf lop which apparently is one of the tamer breeds. It has a cage in our dining room with a litter box and hutch that we keep it in at night. During the day if we are home we open the cage and it is free to come and go (I don't leave it out when we aren't around). It is more like a dog than a cat. It comes when you call it's name, hangs out tin the kitchen when I cook to wait for veggie and fruit scraps, plays with toys (loves balls and the sprinkler) and likes to sit next to you and have it's ears scratched.

 

It did take a while to litter train it and during that time we restricted access to the kitchen and dining room with baby gates which was kind of a pain (maybe 6 months). We also have to be really careful about providing enough appropriate stuff to chew on because I have caught the rabbit sharpening it's teeth on the legs of my table when it had been a while since it had hard toys in it's cage.

[Pretty in Pink]

We did. Until quite recently we had a Holland Lop that was cage-trained. She always returned to her cage to potty, unless someone closed her up in a room and she couldn't get out. She would follow us from room to room like a puppy. She and our dog played together daily, chasing one another about the house and even napping side by side on the dog pillow. She was a sweetie.

[EthiopianFood]

Wow, I didn't realize rabbits actually had personalities! They have such a blank expression. I think my main concern is the potty training. I have a dog with separation anxiety, which leads to pee sometimes when we come home; a baby who needs to go NOW, with two lazy parents who don't always remember to plan ahead :glare:; an older kitty who needs a better set-up because the kittens attack her when she tries to use the main litter box; and a paralyzed kitty whose bladder I have to express every 3-4 hours.

 

My life already revolves around pee that doesn't make it where it should. I don't need another species to contribute to that.

 

Maybe now isn't the best time for a new pet. :lol:

[Pippen]

Rabbits have tons of personality--you just need to learn to read those expressions right. ;)

http://www.disapprovingrabbits.com/

 

Our bunny probably wouldn't have been a good fit as a house rabbit with young children. We had her since she was very small, but she went through a period of nipping when she didn't get her way (pet me now!). And even though she had lots of handling throughout her life she'd struggle while being picked up, like prey animals often will.

[SBP]

 

You do need to make SURE that you protect all power cords as rabbits are chewers.

 

This would be the deal-breaker for me. Our rabbit has defeated all my attempts to cover/protect the power cords. He gets past my blockades and chews through my heavy plastic cord covers. Even getting shocked isn't enough to deter him from chewing cords. After replacing my den lamps for the second time I decided that we couldn't let him hop around the house anymore. He can come in if the kids are holding him/playing with him, but other than that, he's in a big run on the back porch.

 

For what it's worth, though, if we could resolve the power cord issue, I'd much rather have the bunny around than any cat. He really is sweet and funny and affectionate, in his own way. They have tons of personality and really do like to be with their people. (They don't necessarily want to be held by their people every minute, but they do like to be around them. I compare our bunny to a toddler; he'll snuggle sweetly for a few minutes and then he wriggles and wants to get down and go exploring.)

 

If you're considering having a house bunny, though, I'd use gates to limit him to rooms that have limited/no power cords and a hard, easy-to-clean floor until you're sure he's litter trained. And even then, I wouldn't make his world too big. A room or two is plenty for such a little guy.

 

SBP

[min]

Our bunny is limited to a couple of rooms for free ranging, but he has a hutch there too, so he's not free range all the time. He's very cuddly and will often come and sit with us while watch tv. After a while we put him back on his litter box. :) Generally he's very cuddly and will often stay for *ages* - an hour or more, especially if we keep patting.

 

As a young bunny he was addicted to cables. Unless I gave up and put the chewed-on cable into his hutch, then he ignored it.

 

He's middle-aged (5) and has been neutered, and is very reliable in the house-training department. That is to say, bunnies will do some droppings as it is a territory marking thing, from my understanding, but we don't ever get any puddles. Droppings are smell-free, puddles are smelly.

 

Min

[Closeacademy]

Some of the biggies with litter training/introducing a rabbit to the house:

 

start with a small area (over time you can open up more space)

put a litterbox everywhere she goes (eventually you can get rid of a few)

potty usually gets in the box (90% of the time)

but they use pellets to mark their territory

 

And yes, they have lots of personality but you kind of have to let them have room to bring it out. In a cage in the backyard they often get depressed and go into themselves. But in a large area they come into their own. I call them the boxer dogs of the animal world. They are sweet and loving and yet they can be so naughty and destructive.

 

:001_smile:

[coffeefreak]

I had a dwarf bunny in college and I loved her. However, she thought she could dig a hole behind the couch and when we moved, we found two perfect holes, on either side of couch where she was trying to get behind it.:lol: Luckly, the carpet was so bad they didn't charge us.

 

Cats gotta claw, bunnies gotta chew. Keeps their teeth from growing too long.

[Maverick_Mom]

We have free-range house bunnies, but they are of the dust variety. :D

[LaissezFaire]

A lot of rabbits LOVE to chew cords. That is the one downside.