Zara
Mama Doe
Calling all silver-tongues and debate masters! I need your help desperately! All of you people who have turned outdoor rabbits into houserabbits, how did you go about it? and how did you convince the rest of your household it was the best idea?
I posted a thread the other day announcing my plans to turn the rabbits into house-buns since the Garden is FULL of poisonous plants, wisteria is RIGHT in front of the rabbit shed, Ivy all round the garden, and I'm not happy with the rabbits living in the shed anymore, out of sight and away from the rest of the family. Ever since Firefly died I keep wondering if I'd of been able to save him if I'd of only just found him earlier. The problem is I live with my bf and his mum, who is extremely house proud and whilst she loves having the cats indoors, the rabbits are a no-no. I tried bargaining by discussing building a rabbit run for the garden, safe from predators and plants but she doesn't want that as it would be an eyesore on the garden. Getting rid of the poisonous plants is also a no-no, she loves them too much, but there has to be SOME compromise! We discussed the rabbits being my top priority when I moved in, as a fellow animal lover I thought she'd understand but once again rabbits have found themselves at the bottom of the pet hierarchy :evil:
I told her there was no way to protect the rabbits from all the poisonous plants, but she said, "They've not eaten them and died so far, so why the problem?" To me that's like putting her beloved cat in a field full of dogs saying it's ok because none of them have attacked yet, so it's safe :roll:
Since she's unwilling to compromise on the garden, and since my rabbits are happier indoors anyway I then kept pushing for them to be housed inside. She is firmly saying no though, she's convinced it will be constantly messy and the house will be full of rabbit droppings. I know from browsing some of your indoor settings the other day (Eyeing up the NICubes) that indoor rabbit homes don't have to be messy or take over the house! They can look quite lovely.
Please everyone, help me convince her otherwise. I think it's dreadful that she thinks it's ok to compromise MY rabbits safety just for appearances when she's too afraid to let her cat out at night incase it gets killed. Can't she see we share the same fears!? I've lost one rabbit, my best friend, we don't know how but the guilt is unbearable, to think it may of been something he ate tears me up, I always considered myself a good rabbit owner, but now I'm not so sure. I can't let them down again, Rascal already loves me to bits and is well behaved inside, and now Batbunny is living outside again he's withdrawn completely
And I'm having fits of crying and sleeping problems, worrying about the rabbit's safety in the garden, It's just too much. I was promised my rabbits would be treated well here as much as the cats, I feel like we've been betrayed.
I posted a thread the other day announcing my plans to turn the rabbits into house-buns since the Garden is FULL of poisonous plants, wisteria is RIGHT in front of the rabbit shed, Ivy all round the garden, and I'm not happy with the rabbits living in the shed anymore, out of sight and away from the rest of the family. Ever since Firefly died I keep wondering if I'd of been able to save him if I'd of only just found him earlier. The problem is I live with my bf and his mum, who is extremely house proud and whilst she loves having the cats indoors, the rabbits are a no-no. I tried bargaining by discussing building a rabbit run for the garden, safe from predators and plants but she doesn't want that as it would be an eyesore on the garden. Getting rid of the poisonous plants is also a no-no, she loves them too much, but there has to be SOME compromise! We discussed the rabbits being my top priority when I moved in, as a fellow animal lover I thought she'd understand but once again rabbits have found themselves at the bottom of the pet hierarchy :evil:
I told her there was no way to protect the rabbits from all the poisonous plants, but she said, "They've not eaten them and died so far, so why the problem?" To me that's like putting her beloved cat in a field full of dogs saying it's ok because none of them have attacked yet, so it's safe :roll:
Since she's unwilling to compromise on the garden, and since my rabbits are happier indoors anyway I then kept pushing for them to be housed inside. She is firmly saying no though, she's convinced it will be constantly messy and the house will be full of rabbit droppings. I know from browsing some of your indoor settings the other day (Eyeing up the NICubes) that indoor rabbit homes don't have to be messy or take over the house! They can look quite lovely.
Please everyone, help me convince her otherwise. I think it's dreadful that she thinks it's ok to compromise MY rabbits safety just for appearances when she's too afraid to let her cat out at night incase it gets killed. Can't she see we share the same fears!? I've lost one rabbit, my best friend, we don't know how but the guilt is unbearable, to think it may of been something he ate tears me up, I always considered myself a good rabbit owner, but now I'm not so sure. I can't let them down again, Rascal already loves me to bits and is well behaved inside, and now Batbunny is living outside again he's withdrawn completely
And I'm having fits of crying and sleeping problems, worrying about the rabbit's safety in the garden, It's just too much. I was promised my rabbits would be treated well here as much as the cats, I feel like we've been betrayed.