#some cats will die despite intensive veterinary care

[ainawgsd]

Just a reminder with spring on the horizon and gifts of flowers being more common, LILIES ARE TOXIC TO CATS!

And by TOXIC I mean even just a few pollen grains or the water from a vase holding cut lilies or even just biting into a stem or leaf can cause fatal kidney failure.

If you have cats, please keep true lilies (any plant from the genus Lilium) out of your home or garden

[unofficialzookeeper-blog]

***DISCLAIMER: ALL OF THESE TIPS ARE MY OPINIONS ABOUT WHAT IS BEST BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE, SORRY IF ANY OF THIS OFFENDS YOU***

Contrary to popular belief, people do read my blog (despite it being mostly uninteresting because it’s about my life) and a lot of readers have requested that I make an article about my bunnies. Primarily, I was going to make an article about why bunnies make great pets, but a really good friend of mine and fellow bun-mom Carolyn Allen brought up the point that rabbits are great pets only when their owners are educated and dedicated. Rabbits are not easy to take care of and should never be considered a starter pet. They are great pets because, with a lot of hard work and attention to detail, their companionship is completely worth the struggle.

So I’m going to cover a ton of information in this article, feel free to skim through and PLEASE message me if you have any questions/concerns/changes you’d like to make.

Part I: Housing

A rabbit’s living space is arguably the second most important aspect of their care (next to diet), but should be the first thing you consider when you decide that you’re interested in adopting a rabbit because if you don’t have the room for one, just straight up don’t get one.

So, what is an acceptable living space for a rabbit and what is just inhumane, cruel, and downright stupid?

For starters, if you are imagining keeping your rabbit in a wire cage, critter keeper, or any kind of store bought colorful cage with shelves- go ahead and just never have a child or pet or plant or anything alive under your care. Most habitats advertised at Petsmart, Petco, etc. are just absolute garbage and should be abolished. These are NOT suitable for animals- rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, rats, chinchillas, hamsters. NO. DO NOT DO IT. THEY ARE MADE FOR HUMAN CONVENIENCE, NOT ANIMAL SATISFACTION.

So, what, your rabbit gets his own walk in closet and sleeps in your bed with you? Also not the case. 

Can I keep my rabbit outside? I know that a lot of people do keep their rabbits outside in hutches/pens/grassy areas. Should you take your rabbit outside? Sure, your rabbit might enjoy himself. Should your rabbit live outside 24/7? No. Rabbits are very sensitive to hot climates and can even freeze to death outside in extreme temperatures.

Would you leave your dog outside 24/7, or your cat? No, and if you do, you’re arguably a terrible person, regardless if your dog/cat “loves the outside!!”, and you should allow your pet access to the indoors at all times. Rabbits are indoor pets and, although they can be taken outside to roam and play, you should provide proper accommodations for them in the comfort of your own home. Have an outdoor hutch/pen and want to let your rabbits enjoy the cool morning while you supervise with your cup of coffee? Yes, lovely. Just make sure you bring them back inside with you.

The absolute SMALLEST enclosure I would recommend is a large playpen for dogs. When I first got my rabbits, I lived in a college dorm (a story for another time) and I sectioned off half of the entire room with a playpen gate for them to enjoy. I got half of the room, and they got half of the room. You don’t have to dedicate all of your space to them, and I would even say that keeping them in the playpen or exercise pen while you’re not around to supervise their bun activities is totally acceptable (assuming that you’re not leaving them in there 24/7 and you’ll be home often enough for them to run around in a room or your house for extended periods of time). 

You should bun-proof the areas that your rabbits will have access to, which means putting up cords and cables, putting fencing around wood that they might chew, and picking up any items they might ingest. 

Here’s a great article about proofing your house: http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bunny-proofing

Your rabbit should get a lot of time to run around a room or an enclosed area with carpet or some sort of surface they can run on (foam floor tiles, old carpet, etc). Rabbits do not have padded feet like cats and dogs and do not have traction on hardwood floor- only giving them access to wood or tile surfaces to run on will hurt their legs and feet in the long run, although my guys love to lay on the cool tile occasionally in the kitchen.  Your rabbit will also appreciate having accessories to his enclosure. The best and cheapest stuff is the items that are made for cats (beds, tunnels, things to hide in). I give my guys a long tunnel with lots of entrances to run in and they absolutely love it. You can buy really cute toys for them to play with that will keep their teeth healthy, too! I also give them cardboard boxes with no tape or dark ink printed on to play in/chew up, and cardboard toilet paper/paper towel rolls to play with. 

Look on Pinterest and the internet for housing inspiration. At the bare minimum, your bun’s pen should room to run around in, tunnels/toys, a litter box with a hay feeder hanging above it, and a water and pellet dish. 

For my rabbits, they have my entire carpeted bedroom to run around in. I also have a custom built hutch for them that doubles as a large shelf that I keep my mirror and other items on. I just close the door when I’m not home so that the dogs won’t bother them, and when I’m home to supervise, they have free roam of the house and love to sit on the couch.

Part II: Saving Up, Adoption & Veterinary Care

Rabbits, in my opinion, can have pretty intense start up costs, but are relatively cheap and easy to maintain once they’re settled in (assuming all goes well and normal). Before getting a rabbit, make sure you find a good veterinarian that specializes in rabbit care. My buns go to the Glenway Animal Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. When I first got Henry and Moose, I spent almost $1,000 on veterinary costs. They had a pre-surgery checkup, both had their nails trimmed (which should be done monthly, usually costs about $20 per rabbit), and both were neutered, which was about $450 a piece. Getting your rabbits spayed and neutered MATTERS- even if you’re not housing your rabbit with another rabbit of the opposite sex. Fixed rabbits can live up to 13 years compared to a rabbit that is not fixed that will only live to be about 5 or 6 years, as rabbits are susceptible to a lot of reproductive issues and cancer. Hormones that rabbits have naturally that make them territorial or mean can also be flushed out by getting your rabbit fixed. For example, male rabbits will spray their urine in your house to mark their territory if they are not neutered and hump other rabbits/you to show dominance. Ever been sprayed in the face with rabbit urine? It is possibly the worst thing I have ever encountered. Fix your animals. So why would you want a pet rabbit if it’s gonna cost you $600+? Well it isn’t! Rabbits that are up for adoption in sanctuaries and rescues are usually already fixed, vet checked, and up to date on shots. That leads me into my next point, ADOPT DON’T SHOP. Check out PetFinder and local rescues that have rabbits that need homes. You will save HUNDREDS of dollars by opening your home to a rabbit that has been in the shelter instead of a rabbit from a rabbitry or breeder. 

However, there are some expenses that rescues won’t cover, and that includes supplies (food, fencing, toys, litter, litter boxes, water and food dishes, etc), so I would recommend saving up around $150+ just to be safe when you first get your rabbit because you never know how many emergency trips to Petsmart you’ll have to make for comfy fleece blankets and toys to play with. 

Part III: Research

Again, before you ADOPT your new bun, PLEASE do research outside of this article.

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Getting_started_with_a_rabbit

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Vegetables

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Housing

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bunny-proofing

Watch YouTube videos, join Facebook groups (Rabbit Owners Community is a great Facebook group with tons of good advice), and just google your questions. You’ll learn lots of things from just watching funny videos, like when to tell if your bunny is happy. 

Fun Fact: Rabbits “sploot”, or put their hind legs behind them when they lay down, flop on the floor, and “purr” (chatter their teeth together lightly) when they’re happy. When rabbits are SUPER happy, they will jump and kick around, which is called binkying. Look up videos of binkying, you won’t be disappointed.

Part IV: Diet

So, congrats, you adopted a rabbit! He’s at your house, in your special bunny proofed area, and now you should probably feed him! Rabbits have the three main food groups:

Hay: Your bunny should be given an unlimited amount of timothy hay- and by unlimited, I mean your bun should ALWAYS have access to hay, so their little hay rack or bin should always have hay in it. Hay helps a bun’s digestive system and keeps everything processing correctly, and also helps grind their teeth down so that they don’t grow too long. Rabbits don’t possess the ability to throw up, so if something goes wrong in their digestive tract, they won’t be able to get it out and could potentially die. The best brand for any bun food/hay is 100% Oxbow. This is the only brand I use and recommend.

Pellets: I feed my buns ¼ cup each once a day of Oxbow brand timothy hay pellets. The pellets add extra vitamins and nutrients into their diet, but should be fed sparingly based on weight.

Weight (lbs)..... Amount of Pellets

1-3..... ⅛ cup

4-7..... ¼ to ⅓ cup

8-10..... ⅓ to ½ cup

10+..... ¾ cup

Veggies: Once a day buns should be given a little salad to eat. They should be given one one cup of packed greens per every two pounds of rabbit. I give my buns a handful of greens each with a small amount of shredded carrots on top, considering they are between 5-6lbs each. 

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Vegetables

A bun’s diet should consist mainly of hay. However, there are some treats you can give to your rabbits occasionally, like fruit or store bought hay treats. BE AWARE, treats like fruit can be extremely high in sugar and bad for your rabbit if fed in large quantities or too often.

Let’s talk about water. In the wild, rabbits usually drink out of water bottles attached to their wire cage walls. Okay, now that you can see how stupid that sounds, why would you make your rabbit drink out of a water bottle if it’s unnatural? Give your rabbits a water dish (preferably a heavy ceramic one so they won’t flip it over for fun) and just refill it a few times a day- being a rabbit is thirsty work.

Part V: Litter box & Cleanliness

Rabbits can be pretty disgusting when they’re kept in a small cage with no choice but to stand in their own feces and urine all day in shredded paper litter- which is why we don’t keep them in small cages that double as a litter box! Rabbits can be litter box trained! If you clean your rabbit’s litter box regularly and use proper litter, rabbits don’t smell at all and are similar to cats when using the bathroom. You can use a regular cat litter box, but I would recommend this special one made for rabbits. The screen on top keeps them from digging at the litter and can be used to clean out poops much more easily. 

Pine litter is recommended by almost every single rabbit owner I know. It is literally $5-6 for a 40lb bag of litter, which lasts me about a month (I change my rabbits’ litter once every week or so, and they have 3 litter boxes). It also smells SO much better than any rabbit litter that is “made for rabbits” and lasts much longer. 

Despite being litter trained, my rabbits do have accidents occasionally, and I do find little poops in my room. So how do I keep my room from smelling awful and being disgusting?

I clean it (imagine that)! For urine, I use a urine eliminator spray on the spot after dabbing up most of the moisture with a towel. If you don’t wanna fork out that much money for pee spray, I would also recommend water + white vinegar in a spray bottle and a little baking soda on top of the stain. It smells like vinegar at first but goes away really quickly and helps with any pee smell/stain.

For cleaning up poops, I bought this life saving vacuum. I can’t imagine my life without this thing, it is seriously a huge blessing.

Part VI: Personal Experience

My personal story with rabbits has fortunately been very easy. I got Henry and Moose from a really great girl who didn’t have the time to care for them anymore due to her moving on up in her career. I had just gotten out of a relationship and I was, of course, making tons of impulse decisions. I never had experience with rabbits, I just said “I’ll take them” and then I was launched into parenthood. I got extremely lucky with Moose and Henry. They are the most well behaved and socialized rabbits I have ever seen. They barely chew on anything besides their toys, they are litter box trained, they can free roam with my dogs and coexist peacefully, they’re both really good eaters and aren’t picky at all, and they’re so friendly. Henry even grooms me when I sit next to him. A lot of rabbit owners don’t get as lucky as I am and will get rabbits that are timid and need extra love and attention, and that’s okay! Being a bun parent takes a lot of effort, but it is seriously worth it for all the love you’ll receive back. PLEASE message me with comments/concerns/questions/additions to this article, I love to hear from everyone and I would be more than happy to recommend rabbit adoption facilities and veterinarians!