An Adoption ‘Tail’ — Rabbits

Guest blog by Annie McLaughlin from Found Animals Foundation

This is part one of a two part series on Rabbit Adoption. 

This is a very exciting time in animal welfare, people are starting to become aware of the pet overpopulation problem and are turning to animal shelters and rescues instead of breeders, to adopting a pet in need instead of supporting the proliferation of new pets.

We know that the animal shelter is the best place to start looking for a new pet, but did you know that they have a lot of other animals besides cats and dogs available and in need of a new home?

Having a pet enriches our lives in many ways.  It’s funny because a pet will never contribute one single cent to help pay the rent or to put food in their belly, they’ll never pick up a gallon of milk or even sweep up the fur they shed, what they give to us is completely intangible, if you love animals, having them really improves your quality of life!

If you can’t have a dog or cat, there are still a lot of options and most can be found at your local animal shelter. Today I want to talk about the softest creatures on the planet, rabbits!

Is a rabbit a good pet for you? Here are some basics about rabbit behavior :

Every rabbit will have its own unique personality, but certain factors like age, gender and breed can make a difference. It is important to spay & neuter  your rabbits.  An unaltered rabbit will have only one thing on his mind, reproducing. Spaying & neutering improves health and reduces or eliminates negative hormone driven behavior like spraying and fighting. Spayed females have less of a chance of developing uterine, mammary and ovarian cancer.

Gender:  Male rabbits are generally a little more laid back and easy going and females tend to be a little more territorial and bossy. This is true even after spaying or neutering.

Age:  Rabbits may go through a teenage phase up until they are about two-years-old. Even more of a reason to adopt an older rabbit! In the wild, an older rabbit is established and secure in the hierarchy after about two years, so they are less moody and more affectionate.

Breed:  There are about 60 breeds of rabbits. Temperament can be grouped along with size. The larger rabbits, like the Angora, may be more mellow and the smaller rabbits like the dwarf or lop, may be a little more energetic and/or nervous. 

Rabbits in Pairs: In the wild, rabbits live in groups so having a “bonded” pair of rabbits will be more fun for the both of you. The best pairing is to follow nature and keep a (neutered) male and a (spayed) female together.  Bonded rabbits will copy each other’s behavior, so if you have one rabbit that is litter box trained and you adopt another rabbit, most likely the first rabbit will train the second one.

Stay tuned for Part 2 on June 4.