Does your extended family approve/disapprove of your rabbits?

[Celery]

I'm curious if anyone has run into issues having to do with family approval and your decision to have rabbits?

When my Mom found out that my husband and I took in a rabbit- who proceeded to have 8 kits, she freaked out! She's not an animal person by nature and has never been thrilled by our choice to have cats and guinea pigs. However, she's never yelled at me about it. She made all kinds of accusations regarding the rabbit (and her kits), like that I don't care about my house if I keep rabbits indoors and people will think we are trashy. That rabbits smell and so will my house. She's convinced that we are going to keep all 8 kits and the mother, which we are not. But even if we were, I don't quite see why she would react this way. We have a nice house. We take excellent care of our pets; ensuring a safe, sanitary environment for them as well as the humans in the house. I just don't think it's that big of a deal to have the rabbits in the house. The doe is potty trained and we've bunny proofed everything. She doesn't think we should keep the rabbits outdoors either. She's anti-rabbit and I can't get a real reason for it, other than that in her opinion they smell and that we have too many pets. She said I should have left the rabbit out in the cold and let nature take its course.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Four decades ago my in laws got kick out by my wife as they waited til I went to my Aunt's and started picking on my wife trying to bully her like they always did before we were married. Next time they came over, I told them if they had anything to say, that they had to speak with me, and they countered with "can't we speak to both of you?" My reply was that they could have in the past but chose not to, so if they didn't like it "don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out". Since they are Jewish I quoted from the "Old Testament and the Torah" on who is in charge with my wife and told them to talk to the Rabbi and start being menches or never see your grandchildren again. I was tired of them upsettting her every holiday and trying to control me through her. Don't let anybody, especially someone that doesn't have any bunnies tell you about them or try to control you. That is you and your spouse that have the say about your life and household. You might want to be a little more diplomatic about than I was.

 

[JBun]

I think that is primarily an old way of thinking, that rabbits are smelly or dirty. Rabbits are becoming a very popular indoor pet and it's not as uncommon as it maybe used to be, to have people having a litter trained indoor rabbit. Maybe if she keeps bringing it up, direct her to the House Rabbit Society website, that has some good information on keeping indoor rabbits. I have to say, that my sister has a dog, and I find her dog 10 times smellier than my 7 indoor rabbits. Some unneutered male rabbits can be quite smelly, but usually if litter boxes are kept clean and the rabbit is good at it's litter training, then there is no reason a rabbit will smell any more than any other indoor pet, in fact they will probably smell less. To me they smell less than cats or dogs, and I have a very sensitive nose, and usually any smell they do have is from their hay.

I don't know if your mom is older, but I have an older mom that wasn't comfortable with indoor animals. I think maybe her era was raised with the belief that they are messy and carry disease. It took her some years to get used to my indoor rabbits. But now she enjoys seeing them and isn't uncomfortable with them being inside anymore.

 

[Azerane]

I'm sorry to hear that your mum has such a negative attitude towards your pets. Larry is right though, it's your house and pets belonging to you and your husband, she has no right to tell you how to keep or not keep your animals (unless of course you were being cruel/negligent etc which you're not). Personally I really never understood that kind of negativity.

Both my mum and dad were farm-raised kids and ran a farm until their early 30's. The mentality is indoor/outdoor farm cats with no litter tray inside. Dogs are outside only because they're not pets, they're for working. And rabbits were kept in a hutch away from the house. My grandpas solution for unwanted kittens was the terrible old put them in a sack and drown them. After all of that, I'm pretty sure my mum thinks I'm strange for keeping a rabbit indoors, it's something that she would never ever do, but she also sees how much I care for my animals and understands so she's never complained. My dad was the same, in fact he loved Bandit when he met him and I had him up on the couch one day. A place that any farm rabbit would never be Stand up for yourself and hold your ground, you know that you are doing a wonderful thing with how you care for your pets and by taking in a stray rabbit, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

[Akzholedent]

When I just had one rabbit living inside, my mom didn't say much. In September of last year, I took in the two rabbits from my parents' farm. They are "meat rabbits," but they're such sweethearts, I had to rescue them from my brother who wanted to eat them. :-( They lived in a hutch, which was divided in the middle, weren't spayed or neutered, and obviously wanted to be with each other (they would both sit beside the wire divider, and lay there for hours). So my boyfriend and I had them fixed. The only problem keeping them apart is that my female, Ellie, refuses to use the litterbox, so I do keep them beside each other in separate pens, but let them out to play in the hallway.

My dad pokes fun at me for "spoiling them" so much. My mom complains about it every time she comes over. Their room is a bit smelly (because Ellie just pees wherever), and mom just wants me to put them back outside in their hutch. My boyfriend and I are working on creating an outdoor pen for them so they can stay outside and play, cuddle, whatever they want (they do love it out there. My single bun, Pippi, hates the outdoors. Lol). Honestly, I think they'd be happier where they can play all the time, and since my bunny allergy just keeps getting worse, it'd be better for me to only have one bun in the house. Until we get that outdoor pen done, I'll just keep sneezing and cuddling my buns on the couch. ^_^

 

[MissyAndMoonlight]

I can't really say much, since my rabbits live outside, but my family loves them. And it's true- rabbits really aren't that smelly. The rabbits themselves don't stink, and poop is mostly odorless, so if you keep the pee under control there really isn't a problem!! Good luck!

 

[ravenmoore36]

My mother in law didnt get having house rabbits at all. Shes better now 9 years on. My father in law has always been grandad to them. On a visit once to collect luna after surgery (inlaws visiting at the same time. ) my father in law went to park the car. The receptionist didnt recognise him.....my father in law introduced himself as lunas grandad!!

 

[Zicheri]

When I got my Flemish Giant (Winston), my Dad told me it was the "most irrational thing" I had ever done in my 25 years. My parents didn't get it, but they've come around on Winston. I think they still think things would be easier if I had just gotten a cat, but I wanted a (big) bunny and they know how much I love him. They like him... but they're still not "bunny people" and I don't think they ever will be.