Cousin not holding rabbit properly and he jumps out of her arms!

[Madelyn L.]

Hey everyone. My cousin is over and she has picked up my bunny like 3 times. On the last attempt, his leg was hanging out and his neck was twisted. He squirmed around and jumped out of her arms. How do I get her to stop picking him up before he gets hurt!

 

[ArtistChibi]

How old is your cousin?

 

[Madelyn L.]

13

 

[ArtistChibi]

Does your cousin even listen then? Is there a chance you get keep your bunny in another room away from your cousin?

 

[Madelyn L.]

Not really, we are about to go to bed and she is constantly around him

 

[ArtistChibi]

I'm going to sound harsh when I say this, but you could tell her that if she continues, she'll kill the bunny then she'll have to owe you a large sum of money for it. I had to pull that to force UPS to deliver my bunny's food. It's not pretty, but sometimes you gotta be stern.

 

[Madelyn L.]

I'm going to sound harsh when I say this, but you could tell her that if she continues, she'll kill the bunny then she'll have to owe you a large sum of money for it. I had to pull that to force UPS to deliver my bunny's food. It's not pretty, but sometimes you gotta be stern.

I agree. It may be difficult for me because we r pretty close, but I care about my bunny.

 

[ArtistChibi]

I agree. It may be difficult for me because we r pretty close, but I care about my bunny.

Precisely. I had to get my mother-in-law to understand that she can't be rapidly moving her fingers toward Shen because he doesn't know her well enough. But to remain at his level and let him inspect her. You can try to have your cousin lay down with your bunny, as well, and see if the bunny will trust her then. But definitely enforce the "don't pick him up or he'll get hurt or could die".

 

[Mariam+Theo]

My cousin is also over right now and she has asked to hold Theo multiple times and I've just said "No, because he could bite you, and then you could drop him, and then he could get hurt, and then I would have to pay for a vet visit, and then I wouldn't have any money left, and then I wouldn't be able to buy food for him, and then he would starve, and then he would die, and then I would be depressed, and then I wouldn't eat, and then I would starve, and then I would die, and then my mom would be depressed, and then..." So she understands not to hold him. I've shown her how to lay on the ground and let Theo come to her so now Theo loves her and will let her cuddle with him. He actually just flopped right beside her Unfortunately, she was sitting beside his water bowl so he flopped into his bowl She told me that earlier today she was petting him and when she stopped petting him he wouldn't move, so she tapped him several times to get him to move and he still wouldn't move. She said that she freaked out thinking "I JUST KILLED MARIAM'S RABBIT!!!" but then he moved so she calmed down
You said you and your cousin are really close, so she should understand how much Patches means to you. Maybe try to explain how delicate rabbits are?

 

[john.thorpe1952]

Simple really,which do you care most about,your rabbit's welfare or whether your cousin is offended? It's got to be the first I imagine and the only answer is to be very stern indeed and say NO,which bit of NO do you not understand?!Don't pussyfoot around with this,if someone's so stupid or wilful that they keep ignoring you,take the rabbit out of her way or take her out of the way of the rabbit,otherwise it won't end well for the rabbit!

 

[Madelyn L.]

Simple really,which do you care most about,your rabbit's welfare or whether your cousin is offended? It's got to be the first I imagine and the only answer is to be very stern indeed and say NO,which bit of NO do you not understand?!Don't pussyfoot around with this,if someone's so stupid or wilful that they keep ignoring you,take the rabbit out of her way or take her out of the way of the rabbit,otherwise it won't end well for the rabbit!

Well she didn’t KNOW at first what she was doing wrong. She is not stupid or willful, because I explained to her yesterday not to pick him up and she completely understood.