Rabbits.  Bunnies.

What can I say about these furry creatures?  Just a few months ago I couldn’t say enough about them.

I would tell you that they have an attitude and that they are intensely sensitive creatures.  They are sociable and love attention, they are a wonderful secret/hidden pet that nobody knows about.  They are cute and soft.  They don’t make any noise.  They live to be about 8 to 10 years old.

The truth about these creatures is: they are chaos.  Maryia and myself have had the following bunnies: Zeatao (she picked the name, don’t ask me), Thunder, Midnight, Sicily, Seasail and Mahle.

Of all of those bunnies: Zeatao (one of Maryia’s bunnies) hated Maryia and myself.  She was only about 3 years old.  She stopped eating and showed severe dislike of her living situation.  She once hopped over me to where Maryia was lying and pooped near her head (before jumping back into her cage).  We returned her to Maryia’s dad in about 1 week after picking her up.

Thunder (picked him up from the shelter).  He was about a year old.  He had dental problems that were not disclosed to us when we picked him up.  After taking him to a vet we found that those dental problems could cost (up to) a few thousand dollars to fix.  He did not like to be held at all and would thump constantly at everyone to show his displeasure.  The shelter said he was littler box trained which was a lie.  Every time he was out of his cage he ran behind a couch or somewhere you couldn’t easily reach him.  We ended up returning him to the shelter so that he could get the medical attention he needed.

Midnight (we picked up from a breeder) and got him when we was only 9 weeks old.  He is the only bunny we still have… and he seems to be healthy.  He is a filthy little beast – but then that (by nature) is what bunnies are.  Filthy creatures who do not want any attention from you but want to eat, poop and do whatever they want to do, whenever they want to do it.  If you pick him up he might lick you if you sit down with him and force him to stay in one area (various websites list this as a big bonding thing but I’m not so sure I believe it).  Bunnies also scratch a lot.  Plus they stink.  Did I mention they are filthy?    Every bunny we have had has eaten their poop.  Plus when they eat they like to have some poop in their feeder.  This is also normal for every bunny we’ve had.  You can clean up a bunny cage 3 times a day and it will still be messy.  Clean the cage 5 times or more a day and you will probably be safe to have a somewhat clean area for the bun.  All of that for what?  An animal who doesn’t want anything to do with you.  Can you read my disgust with these animals?  I hope so.

Sicily (also from the same breeder/litter as Midnight & Seasail) was also 9 weeks old and we had her for about 2 weeks.  Then one night as we were watching a movie and getting ready to hold Sicily and Midnight, she spazed and started scratching like crazy.  Hit the floor and flipped on her side.  Started breathing VERY heavy and almost died.  She regained control of her breathing and her body.  Went into the living room later that night and found her dead in her cage.  At the ripe old age of 12 weeks.  Maryia and myself went outside at 4am to bury her.  She apparently had some disease.  Fun times, I think not.

Seasail (was Midnight & Sicily’s brother) was 11 weeks old when we picked him up.  He seemed to be a good bun.  He was just as messy as Sicily and Midnight (this is worth noting: two bunnies will always make twice the mess).  They are also twice the chaos and x2 for havoc they wreak.  He was with us for 3 days.  He was fine until one morning we went outside to check on them and found him dead.  He apparently had the same disease that Sicily had.  This time Maryia, my mom and myself went to bury him at 9 something in the morning.

Mahle (also from the shelter) was 5 and 1/2 (if not older).  We had her for about a week and 1/2.   She was totally sociable and sweet at the shelter.  Every time we went to her cage she went to the side and ducked her head so that we would pet her.  After getting her home we noticed that she really couldn’t see anything so we took her to the vet.  Turns out the shelter gave us a blind bunny (again not disclosing any problems to us).  We were so caught up making sure the teeth were alright we didn’t bother paying too much attention to her eyes.  Unfortunately it turns out that she was not really a sociable bunny.  She would tolerate being held but did not enjoy it much.  Even tried to bite us a few times… that was one good thing about having a blind bunny.  She couldn’t see where to bite.  The shelter also said she was litter trained- which turned out again to be a lie.  She was as messy as any of them.  Regardless, Mahle had a stroke one afternoon and died a few hours later.  This time (on a Sunday evening) we went outside to bury her.

Bunnies don’t seem to be the brightest bunch of animals.  Big surprise, I know.  But there is all of this talk about bunnies being smart and clean.  Have one and you will think otherwise.  I don’t say that because they die so easily.  They just aren’t very smart.  They really don’t serve much of a purpose.  If Maryia didn’t like them so much I would not get another bunny.  They really are creatures better left as prey (or in the wild).

You wouldn’t believe how disappointed I am in bunnies.  I really believed them to be a good companion when I first read up on them.  That is the furthest thing from the truth.  I use to advocate owning a bunny; now I can’t think of a reason to have one.  I suppose if you want an animal you can cage up all day and let out for a short time (and not care if it likes you or not) but want something to feed and look at then a bunny is for you.  A bunny is kind of like owning a rodent.  Some people love it, others don’t.

I would rather do a lot of things.  Owning a bunny is not something I care to do any longer.  I can check that off of my list.  They die quickly and/or easily.  They smell bad.  They aren’t that bright, they don’t clean up after themselves… they make a mess (a complete mess) of any area they are left with.  They can get sick with almost anything.

Sure, they’re cute.  If you get the right one, maybe it will tolerate you holding it.  I still have yet to see any bunny that actually wants attention.  I’ve been told that they do exist.  I can assure you it is not the norm.

Consider yourself warned.