Funny questions you get as a bunny owner

[coco_puffs]

I already know how I would counter a rude or insensitive question about cats/dogs vs. rabbit ownership. With a rabbit, you get the best of both a cat and a dog. You can cuddle, play with, train and share your food with a rabbit like a dog, but you don't have to walk it and it won't make you crazy with barking. It entertains itself like a cat and is not exceptionally needy or demanding of your time like a cat isn't. It's soft, fuzzy and snuggly like a cat, but it's pee and poop doesn't smell like a cat's. And *then* I would get into the characteristics unique to a rabbit I always take an opportunity like that as a chance to educate. Kudos to those who keep their cool!

 

[Chrisdoc]

OMG it is so frustrating, the main thing I get here is the strange looks that they actually live in the apartment and don´t smell. Well, that´s cos you look after them and clean their trays and they are really clean animals much more so than cats and dogs and so smart. I never thought I´d have rabbits but they have taught me so much and yes, one of the reasons we all come here is to talk about these wonderful animals and exchange ideas and views and give advice on how to enrich their lives...Rabbits rock and are I totally love mine to bits. And yes, the jokes about the casseroles wear a bit thin.. having said that, I loved rabbit but couldn´t eat it now if you paid me lol.

 

[Zurrz]

Most of these are from my days of just having Cid, as Aly's only been in the for a little over a month.

"A rabbit?" I don't even know why I'm consistently asked this. No, not a rabbit. I was lying.
"Does it do tricks or anything?" Yup, he's especially good at training humans.
"When he dies... Are you gonna eat him?" Ugh. Just because we're in Maine doesn't mean you have to act like a total moron... When your dog dies are you going to eat her? On second thought, don't answer that. No. No I am not going to eat him.
"He's litterbox trained! How did that happen?" I'm not sure! One day he just came home with a litterbox and put it to good use!
"Does it bite?" Not me.
"Why would you fix a rabbit!! Such a waste of money!"
"Can I borrow him on Easter." Just stop.

Then there's the ones I got after getting Alex:
"Will you breed them so I can have their babies?"
"When are you breeding them?"
"If you put them together won't they have babies?" This one was from the same person that asked why I got Cid fixed....
"She's so much bigger than him! Aren't you afraid she'll eat him?" What?

I have more, I get a lot of terrible questions being in a place where they'll eat anything and everything without a second thought.

 

[chorxley]

I had the funniest "is that a bunny?" question the other day. My family home is on a river and the only access to the property is by boat (have had a few random questions about living there as well!) so i went home to visit the other day and i have sitting on the wharf with mookie and she was running around me, looking over the edge at the waters, having a great time and this 20 something year old girl walks over to me and seriously asked me if she was a bunny... i just wanted to answer her with whoa what gave it away couldn't have been the ears and the hopping?!? anyway i answered with yes she is and then the girl walked away.. sometimes people are a worry!!

 

[holtzchick]

I always get the puzzled look when I say I have two rabbits and they live in pens in my condo.. People are like "wow, don't they smell, I had one and it was awful.." or "Oh they poop and pee everywhere and they chew everything!!!"

The best was my co-worker didn't like rabbits at all because she was under the same impression...After seeing my bunnies at home, she's in love with them and loves giving them treats

I'm still disgusted that my boss would have bunnies in the store at this time of year ESPECIALLY at Easter!!!
They get comments all the time, like people in the area who may not care much for bunnies but they are animal lovers and they rant about how horrible it is to have rabbits in the store at Easter time and how disgusting it is.... all I say to them is, I know you're right. It's all about turning a profit!

 

[Kzbun]

I must admit that I was one of the people that asked a lot of these questions at first. My brother has a rabbit that runs the house, is never locked in his cage, and has his own room. Anyway, I used to ask my brother a whole bunch of things like, "You really potty trained him?" "He has the run of the house? AND his own room?" "Doesn't he destroy everything?" Yeah, I asked a lot of questions and was ultimately amazed by his answers. I didn't understand it until I decided to get mine, and now I COMPLETELY understand it. :3 So coming from both standpoints, it is an amazing thought about rabbits, because most people do think that they are just like a rodent and that they just stay in cages not doing anything. Just an extra mouth to feed, they think.

 

[PwnzorsNTittylwinks]

forgot to add all the questions I got after telling people I was looking to bond him with a female!
" why would you want to put two rabbits together, dont you know they multiply like crazy?" - they are both fixed.. "why would you fix your bunny? can you even do that?" - because its healthier for them..and no its illegal but i know a guy..
"you act like they are people who need to date. just throw them in the cage together theyll be fine"- ..yep thats why i need utility gloves when I put them together incase they fight. because theyll be "fine".. -.-

i got laughed at i dont know how many times trying to explain how complex bonding is with rabbits. after a while i just gave up on talking about it to people. lol

 

[mochajoe]

I have been really lucky I guess...I have never really been asked stupid questions! I have gotten funny looks a few times. You all think having pet rabbits get questions and looks...I also have pet rats! I get all kinds of questions and looks about owning rats!

Several commented on getting questions about the "smell" I would rather have 15 bunnies and their litter boxes in my house than ONE cat litter box! As it is, we have 4 bunnies in the house!!! I love my cat (I bottle fed her and her brother and sister as they were orphaned at 2 weeks old and she is the last one left) she will be 19 in May...I will miss her terribly when she is gone...and I will so NOT miss her litter box!!


Some others commented on the noise...I also love my dog...however, she is a collie and she is a barker! Again, someday when she is gone...I will miss her but NOT her barking!!!


With all that said...I agree that bunnies are the best indoor pets!!!

 

[Lorelei]

Since I walk mine in pet stores on a leash and harness, I get lots of double-takes and comments like "I didn't know rabbits could be leash-trained!" And when they find out he's a house rabbit: "Doesn't he pee all over the house?" Um, I get the odd bunny doot on the carpet, but he's been litter box trained since he was 8 weeks old, and he's never sprayed ONCE--even before I got him neutered. He has better house manners than my mother's Pomeranian.

And when I first got him, I got a lot of hasenpfeffer jokes from my German grandfather until I asked him to knock it off.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Kate, the next time and idiot asks if you eat the losers, tell them "Sure, wanna race?"

 

[Spikethebunny]

I think the one that upsets me the most is, "can I eat it for dinner?". I usually counter with, "only if I can eat your cat or dog". It bothers me so much that people don't see him as a pet the same way they would a cat or dog. Asking if you can eat my bunny is NOT okay. It is not funny or playful. He is my family, and you cannot eat my family.

I do get a lot of questions about the smell. People are pretty surprised when I explain about litter training and the fact that he is the cleanliest little guy ever. Even our vet can't get over how clean he always is. Other than his hay, he keeps all his stuff piled in a corner and hates if you move his neat little pile.

The rest is asking why I give him so much room. Cause he needs it. Cause I need it. Cause there is nothing more amazing than having that little dude follow me everywhere and curl up in my pj pants to sleep, or sit on my feet as I am brushing my teeth. Or seeing him wait at the door when he knows it is time for my husband to come home.

Other than the first one, I have no problem answering questions about Spike. Because usually people are amazed at the answer. They realize bunnies are smarter and more social (and more work!) than they thought!

 

[MikeScone]

I once had someone in to do the annual furnace cleaning, and Scone hopped in to see what was happening. The service guy did a double-take and said, "was that a RABBIT???"

I felt like saying, "I have rabbits? That's awful. The mice were bad enough..."

 

[Imbrium]

I actually find it a little odd that no one that's come to my house to fix something or whatever has ever really seemed fazed by the fact that my entire living room is one big bunny pen. maybe because the pen makes them seem "caged" which is somehow less surprising than free-range even if the cage is ginormous?

 

[Hkok]

I have write that I have Erslev running free in my cv under "hobbies". So I have been to a few jobinterwievs were the following questions more or less are asked (I am a teacher)
Do you really let him run around ?
Well he jumps, but yes.
Really?
Yes, he is litter trained and are a bit like a cat only he don't eat mice.

 

[existenziell]

I haven't gotten a question about eating any of mine. Mostly people want to see pictures and ask me about why I have a rabbit and not a cat or something. I usually just say that I am allergic to cats and then they quiet down. Usually the "why a rabbit?" question gives me the opportunity to explain that they are really clean animals, don't smell, can be trained, are really fun to watch and interact with, don't make noise, etc. The question I get asked most is about my litter box training and also whether the rabbits smell. Then I just explain that the rabbits themselves don't smell and that I clean the litter boxes daily.

It's been my experience that people are more curious about rabbits and admit their ignorance right off. It's nice.

 

[Anaira]

'Can I eat it?'
'Can I see if he'll attack my dog?'(after his fame of attacking cats/dogs/everything near him that moved spread)

The ones that pop to mind.

 

[WhyMista]

I just usual "Don't they stink" or "Aren't they expensive" or the best "Why do you have a two string bale of hay in your house" lol

 

[Kizza]

I have had some interesting questions and comments:

"Rabbits shouldn't only eat carrots"... I got a sarcastic "Well what are they meant to eat then?".... omg really?

" I had a rabbit once... it tasted like chicken"

When telling someone that my bunny rolls on his back when we lays down to sleep sometimes and its funny, they replied with "but their backs are curved, wouldn't they just roll if they tried to lay down?"...... Probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

"What do you mean you 'play' with your rabbits? rabbits don't play, they aren't dogs"

"How can a rabbit have a personality"

When taking the day off work to take Rocky to get the snip..."Can you even get a rabbit desexed?"

"Aren't they like rats?"... um, no. just, no.

At the supermarket when buying a fair bit of bok choy... "Wow you really like your bok choy..", me: "It's actually for my rabbits"... "rabbits? geez! they eat better than me!" or "what a waste of money, it's just a rabbit..."

The list goes on, people really get on my nerves sometimes. It's one thing to not know about bunnies it's another thing to be an idiot that has no desire to learn and tries to argue with someone who actually has bunnies and looks after them properly.

I can tolerate some people, but when they come out with the rabbit stew comments or a random story about one that has died I get really mad. grrr lol

 

[Anaira]

My rabbits eat better than me.

 

[Imbrium]

"How can a rabbit have a personality"

what... the... f*ck...??

that's gotta be the dumbest question I've ever heard of. I don't know of any animal that DOESN'T have a personality. hell, even fish and sh*t have personalities.