Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Getting rid of a pet?
Hey everyone, I am new here and need some advice please. DH bought me a rabbit two years ago when he was in the military and I was home by myself a lot. He didn't really want one but got her for me because I was lonely. Fast forward two years and he's out of the military, we are both full-time students, and are very busy. She chews on stuff (natural for a rabbit, I know) but it bothers DH because she has ruined his iPod cords, backpack, xbox controller, etc. She is trained to use a litter box but still leaves stray poop on the floor. He is basically just sick of her ruining stuff, stinking, and making messes.
He wants me to give bunny away but I love her. I don't want to be inconsiderate and not compromise, but I feel like it would really hurt me to give her away. I have had to give a dog away before and it still makes me feel sad & guilty even after 4 years.
Any advice is appreciated. I was just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation. TIA!
Re: Getting rid of a pet?
I guess I don't see giving her away as a compromise. It's you completely acquiescing to your H's wishes and ignoring your own feelings..which quite frankly could lead to resentment down the line.
I'd be really upset (mad) if MH asked me to do this. I think you have a right to not want to give away a pet you love.
I worked at a zoo and we had rabbits as our program animals. They lived indoors in nice sized hutches that were cleaned on a regular basis. They got behavioral enrichment (so toys--you can look up the toys that are right for rabbits), and another thing was they had a nice "rabbit run" that was outside that they all got to go in and hang out in two-three times a week.
Is that set up realistic for you? It may not be. But what about that scenario IS realistic for you? A nice indoor hutch--with regular--more supervised "free play" time that is with you? You could get an ex-pen for a dog and then that could serve as a place for him outside and in--a place that is safe--and contains stray poos etc (you could even keep ex-pen on easy to clean areas).
In short--I think there IS more of a compromise than giving away the pet you clearly care about--and hurting you.
Move the rabbit and her living quarters away from wires and other chewables -- it's the same thing as putting away food when you know your dog table surfs.:)
The litter box isn't working out; limit her access to being outside her hutch.
You will forever be my best friend. I can almost feel our hugs. I will ensure everyone will know (now and in the future) what a genuine, kind, loving person you were...I already miss your laughter and our daily conversations. I love you, Samantha. May 20, 1983- February 20, 2012
My husband doesn't like hermit crabs but he respects the fact I have a massive 20 gallon setup in our small living room. He even was going to get bottled water for them the other day (because tap water has chlorine and is unsafe for them). See, that is real love right there!
You will forever be my best friend. I can almost feel our hugs. I will ensure everyone will know (now and in the future) what a genuine, kind, loving person you were...I already miss your laughter and our daily conversations. I love you, Samantha. May 20, 1983- February 20, 2012
What bugs me about this is he thinks you can go Okay and just give up the rabbit. Any pet is a lifelong committment.
What's this guy gonna do when he's around kids? Sheesh....
Yeah, you can't blame the rabbit for chewing. Rabbits chew. She doesn't know any better that she's ruining an item that's expensive. So you need to keep her and the expensive things apart.
40/112
I'm going to send my friend here. She had a bunny who recently passed away. I'll bet she has some advice on how to help- is the bunny caged at all when unsupervised? can you set up the living quarters away from wires?
I'm trying to think- I know you can't supervise 24/7 so when unsupervised, I'd keep the bunny safely put away, I mean, it can't be good for bunny to chew on wires, right?
My current foster dog LOVES any and all of DS's wooden blocks and toys. I really have to take great care to pick them up all the time and keep them in a basket up on the book shelf so he cannot reach them. It is a pain, but better than dealing with shattered and splintered blocks everywhere.
And sometimes he stinks too, so we brush him well and vacuum and wipe down his crate/launder his bedding and things smell better!
Stand your ground!
Thanks! We do keep her caged when I'm not home for safety reasons. I have tried moving all cords, blocking off valuables, etc. But sometimes she just seems to get to stuff. I guess the best option is to only let her out of the cage when I'm in the room with her!
Yeah, I really hope he won't put our kids in a cage with a litter box...
How big is the bunny's cage? Do you have the room to make a bigger cage? You can do it on the cheap using wire shelving, zip ties and carpet scraps (we made a huge, 3 level cage for less than $30 total). If she has a lot of space in her cage and doesn't feel quite so pent up when she's in there, she may have less energy when she's out.
Is she spayed? We didn't neuter our bunny right away because we were dumb and thought it was ok since he never saw other bunnies. But after neutering him, he chewed substantially less.
Keep the cords away from her! Not only is it a pain in the.ass when expensive electronics are ruined (trust me, I know, we lost 4 laptop chargers, a brand new dust buster, and lamp, among other things), it's unsafe for her to chew anything that's plugged in since it could electrocute her.
I have no advice on how to make it easier to keep cords from her, because that basically is what it is. You need to be diligent in doing so.
Do you only have one litter box? If there is a spot she is usually pooping, just put a litterbox there. Bunnies are truly creatures of habit, and their habits are hard to break. But if you add a litterbox and throw her poops in there whenever she goes outside of it, she will probably come around pretty quickly. Just stick with it.
What do you use in your litterbox? Woodchips SMELL. You can go to the hardware store and buy a huge bag of wood pellets for about $5 and not only are they more absorbent but they are almost completely odorless. When we switched from woodchips to wood pellets, we couldn't believe the difference.
Please don't give up your bunny. Your H bought him for you and he needs to suck it up and follow through with HIS commitment. And even if you bring her to a shelter, honestly, how many people do you really think are looking to adopt an adult bunny?
If you have any questions at all or need more tips/advice, then feel free to pm me or page me on here (I don't frequent this board, but Punky will let me know).
LadyE- We bought her a pretty big cage where she has room to stretch and hop and can stand up on her feet. We haven't had her spayed and I read that can help with behavior problems. But where I live it's around $800!
We do only have one litter box because she doesn't poop in just one spot, it's everywhere when she's out of her cage.
I refuse to get rid of her, I just need some advice on how to break these behaviors so it's easier for the three of us to live together. But I found a phone number on a bunny rescue website that you can call and they help you with these problems.
Thanks for all the help!