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When life gets VERY tough

weedug

Mama Doe
What would you do with your rabbits?

Would you keep them, and have them weather the storm with you, would you foster them, or rehome them?

As you may have guessed, life is tough here just now. My 12 year old daughter has been recently diagnosed with 3 long-term health problems, on top of her diabetes, and right now is needing me 24 hours a day. Hopefully things should settle at some point, but I don't know when that point will be.

Just wondered what others would do with their buns if their life went seriously bad?
 
Sorry you're having such a difficult time. I would keep them for as long as I was able. Any move would be stressful for them and I think pets are therapy during bad times. If I absolutely had to I would try and get them fostered (or even boarded). I'd only rehome as a last resort.
I wouldn't give them up unless I really felt that long term I couldn't give them the care they deserve. If things were going to be tough for 6 months and they were going to get less of our time, I would probably think that the stability (for them) of keeping them would outweigh a slight downturn in their standard of care in the short term, provided of course that I felt the level of care I could provide was adequate.
 
Having very nearly had to rehome all my Rabbits last year I totally empathise with your situation.

If you are able to manage the basic care of your Rabbits and you are not having to compromise on that then yes, keeping them could be of benefit to both you and them. If, however, you quite understandably find that your daughter's needs mean that the Rabbits are maybe not always receiving the standard of care you would normally provide then rehoming them may be appropriate.

There are people who say 'I would NEVER rehome my Rabbits'. Those very people can find that they have to eat their words when life takes a totally unexpected turn.

Rehoming is sometimes the right thing to do and it is not always a case of the owner just not wanting to be bothered any more. I for one would support your decision whatever it may be and I am very sorry to hear about your daughter, it must be an extremely worrying time for you :cry:
 
Having very nearly had to rehome all my Rabbits last year I totally empathise with your situation.

If you are able to manage the basic care of your Rabbits and you are not having to compromise on that then yes, keeping them could be of benefit to both you and them. If, however, you quite understandably find that your daughter's needs mean that the Rabbits are maybe not always receiving the standard of care you would normally provide then rehoming them may be appropriate.

There are people who say 'I would NEVER rehome my Rabbits'. Those very people can find that they have to eat their words when life takes a totally unexpected turn.

Rehoming is sometimes the right thing to do and it is not always a case of the owner just not wanting to be bothered any more. I for one would support your decision whatever it may be and I am very sorry to hear about your daughter, it must be an extremely worrying time for you :cry:

I agree totally, no one can say with 100% certainty that they will never have to rehome their rabbit.

I would always try my hardest not to have to rehome Louie BUT, if events beyond my control meant that his quality of life were to be affected badly, then I would seriously consider rehoming him, even though I would be heartbroken.

Thinking of you xxx
 
hi Weedug

obviously your daughter is your priority. but Im just wondering if the rabbits would help her in any way - they can be very soothing and comforting for people who are less mobile, for example.
 
Having very nearly had to rehome all my Rabbits last year I totally empathise with your situation.

If you are able to manage the basic care of your Rabbits and you are not having to compromise on that then yes, keeping them could be of benefit to both you and them. If, however, you quite understandably find that your daughter's needs mean that the Rabbits are maybe not always receiving the standard of care you would normally provide then rehoming them may be appropriate.

There are people who say 'I would NEVER rehome my Rabbits'. Those very people can find that they have to eat their words when life takes a totally unexpected turn.

Rehoming is sometimes the right thing to do and it is not always a case of the owner just not wanting to be bothered any more. I for one would support your decision whatever it may be and I am very sorry to hear about your daughter, it must be an extremely worrying time for you :cry:

Thanks for the replies. I am so worried about my daughter, I can tend to panic about everything. We just get on top of one condition, and another is diagnosed on top of it :cry:. We have no idea what the future will be for her, all we think of is getting through a day at a time.

The buns are fed as usual, twice a day, they get their medicines (I have quite a few with various health or personality problems), hay is topped up 3-4 times and potties are cleaned out daily. I don't know if that counts as basic care being met?
 
The buns are fed as usual, twice a day, they get their medicines (I have quite a few with various health or personality problems), hay is topped up 3-4 times and potties are cleaned out daily. I don't know if that counts as basic care being met?

Yes, I think it does.
 
I would rehome my rabbits if I couldn't keep on top of their basic care (either financially, emotionally or physically) and nobody could help me, but I have rabbits who are quite content to be left to their own devices.

It sounds like you're definitely providing all of their basic needs, if I remember rightly your housing is plenty of space for them and they have each other, so they'll be absolutely fine. After that whether you "should" keep/foster/rehome depends on how you feel about the whole situation.
 
Thanks for the replies. I am so worried about my daughter, I can tend to panic about everything. We just get on top of one condition, and another is diagnosed on top of it :cry:. We have no idea what the future will be for her, all we think of is getting through a day at a time.

The buns are fed as usual, twice a day, they get their medicines (I have quite a few with various health or personality problems), hay is topped up 3-4 times and potties are cleaned out daily. I don't know if that counts as basic care being met?

I would say that that is fine...as long as they all have enough space. s you have said they have health/personality problems....you would probably find them hard to rehome.

I'm really sorry to hear your daughter is so poorly :(
 
Sorry you are having such a tough time - life can be a real :evil: at times.

It sounds as though you are still able to provide the basic care for your bunnies, so perhaps don't rush into anything; sometimes you need to step back and consider all the options.

How many rabbits do you have? Sorry if you've said this and I missed it.
 
Time has got tough for me the last few months and it is finally starting to look better, but i went through the dark thought of just rehoming all my bunnies as i didnt feel i could be all they needed.

But they Had eachother to keep eachother company all i needed to do is keep putting one foot infront of the other and feed them and water them as long as they arent suffering health wise it can be done :)
(hugs to you)
have you got someone who can help you with your daughter for a few mins while you tidy the buns out?
Or even see if someone on the forum would be willing to help clean them out for you so the buns dont have to leave their housing :love:
 
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