What you need to know before adopting a rabbit!

Adopting a pet is a decision that must be carefully considered. In addition, we must not forget that when we adopt an animal from a shelter, this implies that it has certainly already experienced abandonment and/or mistreatment previously in its life. It is therefore essential to find out properly about what adopting a rabbit entails before taking action and adopting this adorable little ball of fur for which your heart melts. This could prevent him from suffering further trauma.

In addition to learning about rabbit behavior and upbringing, you must also seriously question your situation before adopting an animal.

What will you do if your family situation changes? In the event of a new romantic relationship, separation, birth or move, what will happen to your little companion?

Are you going to be able to continue giving him good care and all the attention he needs?

Remember that the rabbit represents a commitment of approximately 10 years. Also, does the whole family want to adopt the rabbit? If this is not the case, the rabbit risks being the cause of conflicts which could lead to its abandonment or a reduction in the attention that should be given to it.

HERE ARE SOME IMPORTANT ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER BEFORE ADOPT:

• Like dogs and cats, rabbits are unhappy in cages. The ideal is to allow him to live freely, because he needs plenty of space to exercise and maintain good mental health. This also applies to little rabbits. Consult here a very complete section from our partner.

• Rabbits, like cats and dogs, are social animals and must be integrated into family life. They are not happy when they live in isolation.

• However, unlike cats and dogs, rabbits are prey animals. It therefore exhibits prey behavior. For example, he is more suspicious and it may take some time before he lets you see his true personality.

• Your rabbit will require care and attention every day. You have to make sure you give him the food he needs, clean his habitat, brush him, give him affection and educate him.

• The expression “hot bunny” didn’t come out of nowhere! Indeed, it is an excessively fertile mammal. This is why the shelter sterilizes all rabbits up for adoption. In addition, sterilization helps reduce the territorial behavior of rabbits, facilitates their education and prevents them from diseases such as certain cancers.

• The rabbit is not an animal that can be left unsupervised with a child. Indeed, the shelter has seen cases in the past where rabbits had to have a leg amputated because they had been escaped by children.

• Cats and dogs can live together with rabbits, but you must ensure that they are properly trained to live in harmony together. The shelter reserves the right to refuse adoption in certain cases where there are dogs if we believe the rabbit may be in danger.

• It is necessary to take certain precautions when designing your home to avoid damage, but also injury to your rabbit. For example, it is often necessary to hide electrical wires.

• Are you sure you are not allergic to rabbits or hay, the staple food of this small mammal? To make sure, becoming a temporary foster family for a shelter rabbit is a great option to discover them, without long-term commitment.

• Like other pets, rabbits can get sick and require veterinary care which can sometimes be expensive. Can you afford to pay for such care?

• The rabbit educates itself like a cat: it can learn to be clean in the litter box, it can learn not to break objects that do not belong to it, it can learn tricks, it can understand several gestures and verbal statements such as “ yes”, “no”, his name, etc.

• The times when the rabbit is most active are at the beginning and end of the day, so it has a rhythm of life that fits well with work or school schedules.

• Even if the rabbit is very greedy, you should not give it just anything to eat!

Finally, even if they have experienced abandonment or mistreatment, shelter rabbits are generally not aggressive or unpleasant. Most of the time, they are excellent companions. They will be very grateful for the love you give them and will be happy to be part of a family that appreciates them. By learning to discover its personality and decoding its way of communicating, you will realize what a wonderful and little-known animal the rabbit is!

If you decide to move forward and become a family for the life of one of our shelter rabbits, download the very comprehensive guide , “First steps with a rabbit” from the Marguerite et cie Association which will help you to welcome your new companion