Reblogged from Eat: Watch: Run:
Each year, thousands of people buy ‘Easter’ bunnies for their kids without knowing how to properly care for a rabbit or the commitment involved. Unfortunately, some pet stores encourage this mindset and as a result, most of these bunnies wind up abandoned, neglected, or dead. A few are lucky enough make it to the SPCA.
As a bunny mommy, I wanted to do this post to get the word out about the commitment it takes to own a rabbit. It’s not easy. This little girl takes a lot of work.
Bunnies live 9-12 years, so it’s a long term commitment.
Bunnies need lots of supervised play time. It’s recommended they have 2 hours a day.
It’s a good idea to get bunnies spayed or neutered. They have a lot of reproductive issues when they get older. Getting Pants fixed cost us upward of $200. (And smaller animals don’t always do well under anesthesia.)
Bunnies need fresh veggies every day. I’m always going to the store during lunch breaks to get her lettuce, parsley, broccoli, Timothy hay, litter, toys, and treats.
Bunnies can be litter trained. It took us less than a week to train her when she was 8 weeks old, but you have to be patient and do your research beforehand.
Bunnies chew. On EVERYTHING. (See the baseboards in the background?)
They also like to dig on carpet, or even better, all the litter out of their litter box. Right after you’ve cleaned it. (Oh, she needs her litter box cleaned out at least twice a day, too.)
Bunnies also shed like you wouldn’t believe – and go through “molting” season where they shed clumps of fur. We have tumbleweed of fur rolling around the house on a daily basis. It’s like a terrible, terrible Western.
Bunnies hate to be held (or at least ours does). Which makes it interesting when you have to cut their nails.
You can’t go out of town without finding someone to watch the bunny. They are not like cats. It’s always a huge production to dismantle Pant’s cage, gather all her things, and get her unwilling ass into her carrier.
Although Pants is a lot of work, we love her and she is so worth it. We never get tired of playing with her and making her do bunny photo shoots and she always makes us smile, but it’s a lot of work that we didn’t expect at first.
Of course, we’d do it again in a heartbeat. She’s part of the family.
(That was right after she was fixed so she was still drugged. There’s no way she’s sit still like that now.)
Rabbits are definitely not animals to buy on a whim. Do your research first if you’re ever interested in one – or ask me! Or, check out this site for more information.
Eat:Watch:Run 
Great post! And, love your ‘Pants pics. She’s a cutie.
This is a very good post! I’m going to share it with a friend who has been considering adding a bunny to their family.
I should mention though, that all these sweat photos make ME want one, and I’ve never considered a bunny as a pet.
Ha! I just realized I typed sweat instead of sweet. Those bunnies don’t look like they’ve been on the treadmill recently.
I can look into getting some fitness bunny photos for you. Then both words will be accurate. 🙂
Such a sweet family photo.
I agree that way too many people get pets without realizing how much time, money, and effort they take. But if you’re willing to do what it takes, they are SO worth it 🙂
So true! FF read somewhere that people with pets smile at least once a day because of their pet. So we get more smiles than other people. Score!
Thanks for posting this – I hate when people adopt animals without thinking about the commitment – and that it’s a commitment for the LIFE of the animal (which can be for many, many years). Too many innocent animals end up in terrible situations b/c of this. So sad.
Me too! My hubs posted something on FB that said 95% of bunnies bought on Easter die before their first birthday. I really hope that percentage isn’t accurate! It makes me want to adopt all the bunnies.
Ooh, I hope that stat isn’t correct! So sad. I always tell my husband that it’s a good thing our condo rules have a pet limit (which we have reached w/2 cats) or I would adopt every needy animal. My “we won the lotto” dream is to buy a huge farm and turn it into an animal rescue. 🙂
I can’t even handle how freaking cute your bunny is. Why would anyone need to buy a bunny when they can just look at these ridiculously cute photos of Pants? How could any bunny ever measure up to Pants?!
And fur-tumbleweeds… us cat owners are far, far too familiar with those…
I took care of the class rabbit for one night as a kid and learned right then it was waaaayy more work than I would be willing to do. I can’t imagine being a parent with kids and a bunny to care for!
Pants is so cute! I love all the photos. Great post on being a responsible pet owner and making others think before they make the commitment. I had no idea bunnies needed 2 hours a day if supervised play.
I have 3 bunnies, so imagine all that times 3. But I wouldn’t trade them for the world. My first warning to anyone wanting a bunny though, is they will destroy your house! I’ve been through several laptop cords, a few lamps, and the carpet in their room (yes they have their own bedroom!) is in shreds.
Great post! I once was visiting a friend of a friend and held their bunny for a few minutes only to find out the bunny chewed a hole through my sweater while I was holding hom. Haha
I had to share your blog on my Facebook page. I had no idea bunnies were so much work!
I really had no idea rabbits lived that long! And PANTS, you cute little devil, you. I think if I had a rabbit, it would hate be. Because I’d want to hold it. All the time. Softness!
Heh spade. Is that when you hit your bunny with a garden implement so they don’t go sleep around?
Yes. It’s just one big whack and then they learn.
Dammit! I need to go fix that.