I was pleasantly surprised to be introduced to my first House bunny, Nemo. My husband, Luke, met some baby rabbits in pet shop and had been enthusiastic ever since. I was not convinced. We had fish (nameless). We have the chickens we adopted from MissZ’s Kinder, Jenny and Don. Another pet would just end up being neglected, and become a chore for little added value.
So Luke didn’t get a bunny for Christmas, as threatened. Instead, he took his animal-loving Dad to the RSPCA on December 27 “just to have a quick look.” And he came home with our dwarf rabbit cross, Nemo. So he wouldn’t get lonely, we have also purchased a friend, Lulu, who is due to arrive home this Friday (pictured below).
Rabbits are a perfect indoor pet. They are very clean, and virtually self-litter training (they choose where they want to pee, and you just put a litter tray there). They eat herbs and vegetables that can be grown in a garden bed. And if cables are protected, they can be relatively undestructive to furniture.
I have been completely turned around. Nemo (named by MissZ, and remarkably lacking in orange stripes) has loads of personality, and in just a week has become a treasured pet. He spends some time in an open-topped pen, and the kids continually drop presents in for him. At their rest times, he is allowed to be “free-range.” This works well for our whole family. In short, I would encourage anyone to think about a house rabbit for a pet.
What about Rabbits and Kids?
The rabbit Nazis would have us believe that having an indoor rabbit and children is one of the cruelest things you can do. The theory is, that rabbits are easily scared by loud noises, and are fragile, so can get injured by young kids. So some say you shouldn’t have rabbits if your children are younger than eight. This is absurd. It’s like saying that you shouldn’t have fish with young kids as they will get them out of the tank and they will suffocate.
Rabbits have previously been promoted as a pet to give to your child. As a result, rabbits have been injured and neglected. This is not a reason to say that rabbits shouldn’t live with children, but that people are stupid. You can teach a child to interact with a rabbit in the same way you can teach them to interact with any other fragile object.
That said, they are apparently perfect pets for older quieter people, as the rabbits gets to form the relationship of trust entirely on their own terms. And it can be free range for a lot longer.
Where to find out more
Rabbits are abandoned regularly, and are better adopted after they have been neutered as their behaviour settles down (at least six months old). This makes them the ideal pet to get from your local shelter. In Melbourne, the RSPCA and the Animal Protection Society publish photos of the rabbits for adoption.
For more information, visit
Oh, I absolutely love rabbits. We had rabbits when my girls were growing up. We did raise some to give away as pets (never for food although we had folks asking for them to butcher and eat…ack!!!). My girls were very young when they learned to handle them and treat them well. One of my favorite memories is of finding my younger daughter (age 2 at the time) asleep on the den sofa with two babies curled up on her chest with their noses tucked under her chin, both asleep. That was the age of non-digital cameras (she is 23 now) and for a reason I don’t remember now, I didn’t get a picture. But I remember it as clearly as if I had.
Thanks for sharing. I hope you will share more about them.
according to my mum, when my elder sister was young, she grabbed the rabbit by its ears and soaked it in soap water, thinking she was doing it a favour (bathing).
unfortunately, despite my mum’s best efforts, it didn’t make it. she did everything she could.
that was over 15 years ago. thanks for this post; brings back memories and i’m certain it’ll be of help to potential pet owners.
@jeff: Oops. Poor rabbit.