"The children have lost interest ..."

MightyMax said:

If only parents would stop thinking of rabbits as pets for kids! Even if the kids really want rabbits, the long term commitment HAS to come from the adults.

Two mini-lops do sound adorable though

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keletkezes said:

I was thinking about this: Lopsy is very much like my friend's cat (awkward, a bit of a terror, not smart, mischievous) so maybe rabbits should be advertised as vegan cats? Because, as housebunnies, that's basically what they are!

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Orenoko said:

Poor little bun, I'm glad he was found and taken to the right place, hope he finds his forever home! Too many people are ignorant of rabbits' needs and just neglect them, intentionally or not. It makes me so angry!

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Graciee said:

Yea exactly my parents never wanted a hamster or rabbits, my mum's not really an animal lover and my dad can only see the point in dogs [emoji38]

Age 4/5 hamster - I loved my hamster (second one, first was vicious and made me terrified of hammies) took me two years to handle my replacement hamster even though turns out he was lovely [emoji38] good job he lived til 3 and a half tbh otherwise I'd never have known he was sweet [emoji38] a hamster was a compromise anyway, I wanted a pygmy marmoset [emoji38]

8/9 was mini lops, hamster had died I didn't want another hamster I was too heartbroken, so they got me two mini lops, with no understanding of the level of work and dedication they'd need, they used to shout at me for not going out and cleaning them out, when I was too young and I just didn't care tbh.

Dog was best one, but I wanted a king Charles spaniel, but a German shepherd was considered more useful to my dad who can't be dealing with not "proper" dogs [emoji38][emoji38] she still wore pink and was called Millie though

Reason I say all that ^ is I think it's very common to get like the starter pet, then the buns, then move on etc parents seem to think that's how you do it...? [emoji38] I see it in pets at home all the time when I'm in there.

Now I love rabbits, I appreciate them, I will admit that I found the mini lops boring, they sat outside in their hutch with a run and didn't do a lot, I've no idea if they had personalities tbh with you, I looked after them but I just had no interest. My parents are suprised that my current 4 buns have a personality.. And they always say Daniel and Phoebe weren't like that at all! They never did anything [emoji38]

If I ever have a kid, I won't be doing all that, if they want a hamster fine, other than that, it'll be dogs as family pets, and buns if I want them I think. Because with buns I think you really have to want them [emoji38]


Just to add - I think a pair of rats are a great pet for a child actually

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MightyMax said:

That's really interesting Grace, thank you for explaining

I guess your parents were trying to do the right thing at the time, but it just doesn't work like that?

I like that the German Shepherd was called Millie and wore pink - was that your doing?

And I love the names Daniel and Phoebe

And yes I agree, with rabbits I believe you really have to want them to make it work. And this is going to happen so very rarely and why they get such a terribly raw deal.

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happybun said:

My rabbits had human names because the previous pair, Hug and Snug, were an embarrassment at the vets.

So I had Matthew, Tabitha, Charles and Cecile.

But was amazed when someone else had a rabbit called Stephen.

There is no logic in that, at all.

When I got M+T, the lady I had them from said 'Oh, I'm so glad they're going to you. You won't lose interest.' None of us knew how depressed I really was, and was going to be. And we didn't know how destructive the house rabbits would be. But that's all in the past.

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Lagomorphine said:

Unfortunately children losing interest in pets is common - in fact this is how our involvement started because we were donated a rabbit and a guinea pig by people who no longer wanted them. But, on a positive note, something good came out of it because it was adopting these animals that made us develop an interest in their welfare.

I readily admit, we knew nothing about rabbits. He came in a small hutch and a run. So we thought, "surely he would like a bit more space". So we extended the run. Then we thought "maybe he would like to run around in the garden". Then we kept extending their run and the whole thing spiralled into a lasting involvement in rabbit welfare. So something good came out if somebody else's disinterest.

I also admit, if you initially had assessed us for suitability, we would have failed completely. I did not know they could get mixy and RHD. I did not know they can develop obesity. I did not know what they correct diet was. Yes, we were ignorant. But perhaps, despite all the bad cases, all the outrages examples of neglect and cruelty, we have managed to achieve something, all of us on this forum and beyond. There is definitely more awareness of animal welfare. The fact that there is publicity and an outcry when something like this happens is perhaps going to make people change their attitude. But of course I feel sorry for the rabbit and hope that she will find a good home.

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Zarla said:

If they are in a bonded pair and living inside they can be absolutely delightful, so playful and confident and loving, to each other and to their humans. But too often parents purchase a single bun, stuff him/her in a hutch and stop handling the bun when he grows out of the cute baby stage, then complain when he acts 'fierce'. Buns do have to be held and stroked every day to maintain friendliness, but I guess some ppl just can't be bothered. It's a shame.

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MightyMax said:

Rabbits are the saddest creatures I know

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Lagomorphine said:

Yes, definitely. Of course there are examples of neglect of all sorts of animals. But dogs will bark, cats will escape and try to find new home, horses are normally too expensive to be bought by really awful people; whilst rabbits will just sit in a hutch and quietly suffer.

And sure, if you keep rabbits locked up in a hutch and do not allow them to play, you will force them to look boring - but as we all know they can be the funniest, most hilarious creatures, with their zooming, digging, stretching, periscoping, playing. Watching them I personally think they are a lot more entertaining than horses (and I have been involved with horses too for over 25 years). And that's just when you keep them in the garden; I can imagine how much more you can interact with them if you have houserabbits.

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binkyCodie said:

sadly this sort of thing seems to echo across most of the small furries especially. be it hamsters or rabbits, just small rodents are viewed as throw away. the kid loses interest so the hamster is flushed down the toilet or released into the wild. people think a hamster is an easy kids pet (they're not really) with no vet costs, because they have no intention to actually take care of it when its sick.

I wish parents wouldn't buy children pets unless they themselves are willing to step up, and also do their own research. so many parents don't, they buy it for the kid and only the kid with no intentions of even bothering. but at the end of the day they're the adult so they are the ultimate responsibility, they are the ones who have to sign documents at the vet, not the kid. they're the ones who are responsible for quality of life.

it makes my stomach turn when I see parents with 5, 6 year old children in PAH "pick out your hamster" with some piddly 40cm awful cage in their hands. I already have a feeling what type of life they will live, if they really even live at all.

its sad. I wish home checks had to be carried out. but that won't happen.

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