Fluffy cotton tails, inquisitive noses, and cute floppy ears. Rabbits are adorable pets that have grown in popularity for indoor living. But is a house rabbit the right fit for you and your home? Bringing a rabbit indoors comes with many pros and cons to consider carefully before hopping into pet parenthood. Inside they need ample room to play, yet remain quiet companions. They bond with owners, but require time and money for proper care. To help determine if raising an indoor rabbit is a good decision for your family, let’s dive into their care needs, behaviors, costs, health considerations, and other key factors to their quality of life and yours. Read on to learn the key pros and cons of welcoming a rabbit to your home and family!
Why Do Rabbits Make Good Pets?
Rabbits can make great pets for many reasons. First, they are relatively quiet animals that don't bark, meow, or make a lot of noise like some other pets. This makes them good options for apartments or homes where excessive noise may be an issue. Second, rabbits don't require a ton of space. While they do need room to hop around and exercise, their enclosures can often be smaller than what a dog or cat may need. Third, rabbits can be litter trained, which makes cleaning up after them easy. With proper training, most rabbits will use a litter box consistently.
Fourth, rabbits are capable of forming strong bonds with their owners over time. They each have unique personalities and many enjoy being petted and interacting with their owners. Fifth, rabbits are intelligent animals that can be taught to do tricks through positive reinforcement training. They are curious and enjoy learning new things. Sixth, there are hundreds of rabbit breeds to choose from in different sizes, colors, fur types, and temperaments. You can find the perfect rabbit breed for your lifestyle and personality.
Rabbits Don't Make Much Noise
One of the biggest advantages of rabbits as indoor pets is that they are relatively quiet animals. Unlike dogs that bark or cats that meow loudly and frequently, rabbits make very little noise. The sounds they do make are usually subtle such as light teeth purring when happy or thumping their feet to signal danger. But most of the time, they are silent. This makes them ideal pets for owners who live in apartments or condos where excessive noise could disturb neighbors. Rabbits won't be keeping you or anyone else up at night! Their quiet nature also makes them good pets for families with babies or young children who need calm environments. As long as their enclosure is properly secured, rabbits will not be able to make a ruckus while you're away from home. Their quiet personality is a major plus for indoor pet owners.
Rabbits Don't Need Much Space
While rabbits need room to hop around and exercise, they do not require as much space as some other pet options. Their enclosures can often be smaller than what dogs or cats would need while still giving them enough area to move comfortably. For one or two small rabbits, an enclosure around 6-8 square feet is usually sufficient. Larger rabbit breeds may need slightly bigger enclosures. You can provide further play space by rabbit-proofing a room or part of your home and providing supervised playtime daily in that area. But when you are away or at night, rabbits are content being in their modestly sized habitats. Their compact housing needs make them great options even if you live in an apartment or have limited indoor space available. Just be sure to also provide daily exercise opportunities.
Rabbits Can Be Litterbox Trained
One of the cleanest aspects of owning a house rabbit is that most can be litter trained. With proper training, rabbits can consistently use a litter box just like a cat. This makes cleaning up after them very convenient compared to cleaning up urine and feces throughout their entire enclosure. By providing an appropriate sized litter box with rabbit-safe litter, and reinforcing the litter box training daily, you can teach most rabbits to relieve themselves in this one spot consistently. The box will need to be cleaned daily to keep the rabbit area smelling fresh. But overall, litter training helps keep rabbits very tidy indoor pets. Look for signs they need a bigger box as they grow. Litter training is definitely a major perk to owning rabbits indoors.
Rabbits Bond with Their Owners
While sometimes viewed as aloof, rabbits are actually very capable of forming strong bonds with their human caretakers. Each rabbit has its own unique personality, likes, dislikes, and habits. When their needs are met consistently through proper housing, feeding, litter training, exercise, and affection, rabbits come to see their owners as source of comfort and security. They recognize their owner's voice, look forward to play time and cuddles, and even display signs of excitement when their human comes home. Rabbits become comfortable being held and interacting with their owners. The bond you'll share with your bunny is a special perk of having one as a house pet.
You Can Teach a Rabbit Tricks
Rabbits are actually quite intelligent animals. This means that in addition to litter training, you can teach your rabbit to perform tricks through positive reinforcement training. With a little time and patience, rabbits can learn to come when called, spin in circles, jump over low obstacles, ring bells for treats, and much more. Training provides great mental stimulation and bonding time for you and your rabbit. Seeing the new things your bunny is capable of learning is highly rewarding. Clicker training often works well to mark when a rabbit performs the right behavior. Use small healthy treats as rewards. With regular short training sessions, you'll be amazed what your rabbit can learn.
Hundreds of Rabbit Breeds
There are over 50 pet rabbit breeds to choose from, offering variety in size, fur types, colors, temperaments and care needs. The most popular breeds kept strictly as indoor house pets include:
- Dwarf breeds like Holland Lops and Netherland Dwarfs which stay under 4 lbs.
- Velveteen Lops with ultra-soft fur
- Mini Rex rabbits with plush dense fur
- Lionhead rabbits with their distinctive manes
No matter your preferences in color, shedding tendencies, or activity levels, there is likely a house rabbit breed that will make a great pet for your home. Doing a little research will help you find just the right breed for your family and lifestyle. With so many to choose from, you can bring home the perfect indoor bunny pal.
Rabbits Live for Many Years
A benefit of welcoming a rabbit into your home is that when properly cared for, rabbits often live 8-12 years. They have a fairly long lifespan compared to some other small pets like hamsters or guinea pigs. This gives you many years to bond with and enjoy yourrabbit companion. It's a longer commitment of care but results in a relationship that deepens over their lifetime. Depending on the rabbit's breed and health, some have been known to live into their teens. So while a longer commitment, having your rabbit around for possibly over a decade can be very rewarding.
Rabbits Are Docile And Gentle
For the most part, rabbits have very sweet, gentle temperaments. When treated well, rabbits come to enjoy interacting with their human caretakers. They will often nuzzle up for pets and cuddles. Rabbits live peacefully alongside other docile rabbit companions when properly bonded. And while they may not enjoy being picked up, they do not mind sitting in your lap. Their affectionate nature and lack of aggressiveness toward humans make them ideal docile house pets. With gentle handling, they become comfortable resting and playing in close proximity to their owners.
What Are The Disadvantages of Owning a Rabbit?
Rabbits Chew and Scratch
Rabbits have natural instincts to chew and dig which can lead to undesirable damage to your home if not properly managed. Out of boredom, loneliness, or curiosity, rabbits may chew on furniture, carpet, electrical cords, or other items. Providing plenty of acceptable chew toys can help curb this habit. Rabbits also have a tendency to scratch and dig at floors or carpeting. These behaviors can be minimized by keeping their nails trimmed, providing digging boxes, and protecting floors/carpets. But their tendency to chew and scratch will require some rabbit-proofing and supervision.
It Costs Money to Keep a Rabbit
While less expensive than caring for a dog or cat, rabbits do have costs associated with keeping them as pets. You need to factor in the expense of having an appropriate enclosure, litter boxes and litter, rabbit food/hay/treats, toys, vet checkups, neutering/spaying, and other basic supplies. If your rabbit has any health issues come up, vet bills and medications can add up quickly. Pet insurance is available for rabbits to offset medical costs. Rabbits are not free pets and do require an investment of money to care for them properly. The costs are very managable but should be planned for especially with an indoor rabbit depending on you for everything.
Hours of Daily Exercise
Rabbits are active animals that need ample exercise time every day to stay physically and mentally healthy. This means rabbit-proofing an area of your home that they can safely explore and play in for multiple hours daily, providing supervised playtime. Without enough exercise, they may become bored, lonely, destructive, or even depressed. While their enclosures don't need to be massive, you do need to commit free time for active daily exercise and interaction. For busy owners, this time requirement could pose a challenge for proper rabbit care. Making sure your schedule allows for daily rabbit playtime is important.
Rabbits Need Company
Rabbits are social creatures that should not be left alone for long periods of time on a regular basis. If a human family member is not home much of the day, having a bonded rabbit pair can provide companionship to each other. Otherwise, a single lonely rabbit may act out with unwanted behaviors. Rabbits form close bonds when neutered/spayed and paired properly. And your rabbit will still bond strongly with you. But they do best with nearly constant companionship from either humans or a bonded rabbit friend. This is another time commitment to factor in when considering a pair of indoor rabbits.
Rabbits Are Fast Runners
Due to their powerful hind legs built for speed, rabbits can be difficult to catch once they start running loose. Indoors, a startled rabbit on the run can be hard to intercept before getting into unsafe areas. And outdoors, a loose rabbit will be nearly impossible to catch. They are agile jumpers and sprinters able to dodge humans with ease. For this reason, any playtime out of their enclosure requires diligent supervision to prevent escapes. Their speed and running instincts make handling them tricky at times. Proper containment methods are a must with any pet rabbit.
Rabbits Poop a Lot
Well litter trained as they may be, the simple fact is that rabbits poop a lot! In addition to litter cleaning multiple times a day, you'll find stray poops around their enclosure that require quick cleanup. Some rabbits tend to leave a trail of pellets as they hop around. Outside their enclosure, be prepared to pick up poops whenever your rabbit has roaming time. You'll get used to the constant poop cleanup that comes with owning rabbits. Just be diligent about doing small cleanups throughout the day to keep their living space clean for them and odor-free for you.
Rabbits Can Get Sick and Injured Easily
While hardy pets when care for properly, rabbits can unfortunately get sick or injured rather easily compared to cats and dogs. Everything from respiratory illnesses, gastrointestinal issues, foot sore hocks, or back leg breaks require veterinary care. Lack of treatment can be fatal. And prey animals like rabbits tend to hide sickness until severely advanced. So diligent observation is required to notice subtle health changes that require a vet visit. Legally, a rabbit savvy vet is mandatory, but not always easy to find. Plus rabbits stress easily so vet visits can be taxing on them. Their delicate constitutions require an extra level of care and responsibility.
Vets Can Be Hard to Find
Seeing as rabbits are considered exotic pets, it can sometimes be challenging to find vets in your area properly trained to treat them. There are fewer rabbit-specific vets compared to typical dog and cat vets. Be sure you locate a nearby exotic vet knowledgeable in rabbit care before adopting one to ensure you'll have somewhere to go for any health issues that come up. Vetrabbit.com is a good resource for locating qualified rabbit vets. Lack of a proper vet could lead to inadequate care or delays if your rabbit falls ill or gets injured. Always know the nearest emergency vet clinic as well. Having a trusted vet is essential.