Keeping a house rabbit

Introduction to keeping a house rabbit

Many people, when thinking of a pet rabbit, relegate them to the back garden - which is a real shame as keeping a house rabbit can be hugely rewarding for both pet and owner. Rabbits are very social animals who adore plenty of attention, thriving on interaction and cuddles - and as they are naturally very clean in their habits and very easy to litter train they make ideal indoor pets.

In addition to the obvious benefits for both you and the rabbit in terms of how much time you will spend together if they are indoors rather then out in the garden, there are added benefits for the rabbits health too. Keeping the rabbit in the house will keep it warm and dry which will help shield it from infections and reduce the likelihood of conditions like flystrike, as well as keeping them safe from potential predators that could visit your garden.

Housing your indoor rabbit

Certain preparations need to be made to ensure that your house rabbit is safe in their new environment, most of which are fairly common sense and would have to be made if you were pet proofing your home your home for any new animal. You won't need much in terms of specialist equipment either, most of the items you need to home a rabbit in your garden, are what are needed for keeping a house rabbit.

Your rabbit will need somewhere safe and comfortable to sleep when you aren't with them – this needs to be big enough to give them room to move around, and lay stretched out on the base. To help minimise mess, it is advisable to ensure that the cage has a solid floor and some sort of lower sides to help keep the bedding in the cage. Remember, as the rabbit will be indoors you do not need a cage that is weather proof as you would for an outdoor rabbit.

When placing the cage, you need to ensure that it is not situated in a draft, or in direct sunlight or within reach of any soft furnishings you are particularly fond of. If you have other pets such as cats, until they are used to each other and you can trust them with the rabbit, make sure the cage is out of their reach.

You should cover the base of the cage with a suitable absorbent material, like shredded paper or sawdust, and make up a bedding area with some straw, hay, or other bedding material. One reason that rabbits are so easy to litter train is they like to choose one area of their cage as a toilet, when you rabbit has chosen theirs, be sure to clean this on a regular basis with a pet safe anti-bacterial product, to remove any odour’s.

Provide a few smaller toys for your rabbit to help keep them entertained while you can’t be with them, Rosewood pets do a wonderful range of natural toys and treats in their "boredom breaker" range which are perfect for the purpose (and come highly recommend by Bramble, my dwarf lop house rabbit).

Fresh water, rabbit pellets and hay should be available to your pet at all times.

Litter training your house rabbit

As has been mentioned before in this article, rabbits are by nature, very clean animals, and will happily use a litter tray with appropriate litter. You may wish to invest in a cage or run to start off with until your new rabbit has got used to using the litter tray and until they feel more confident in the house - the travel cages designed for dogs of small to medium size are perfect for this as many have a plastic base on them which will make cleaning up any early accidents during the training process easier.

When setting up the litter tray, put some of their soiled bedding into it with the litter to help give the rabbit a gentle hint at what it is supposed to do. Rabbits are very intelligent and catch on quickly, although you will need to be patient, particularly with younger animals and work on a reward rather then punish system.

If your rabbit still seems unsure about their litter tray, try moving it to another position in the cage, and put some hay or treats down next to the litter tray to encourage your rabbit to sit in the tray.

Some rabbits (like Bramble) delight in using their litter box as a digging practice; don’t be disheartened by this as it is natural for rabbits to want to dig. Try putting a thin layer of straw over the top of the litter to make it more appealing and less easy to dig at.

Soon it will become second nature for your rabbit to use its litter tray when not in its cage, making it possible for you to enjoy its company without barriers.

House rabbits and other pets

If you have other pets in your household, don’t let that be a reason for you to decide that you can’t keep a house rabbit, they will live happily with other species so long as the introductions are handled correctly.

We have quite a menagerie of animals, with 2 indoor guinea pigs (housed separately from our rabbit) a house rabbit, a house cat and a tropical fish tank – and they all live in almost perfect harmony (there are occasional scuffles between the guinea pigs).

Our cat ignores the guinea pigs and the rabbit, and the rabbit pretty much ignores her too. We put the rabbit in her play pen, with all her toys, and while she was playing, our cat came up, laid next to the cage and put her paw in – rather then panic and shoo her away, we just watched to see what she would do – she patted the rabbit a couple of times, the rabbit ignored her, and she got bored, she now pays no attention at all when the rabbit is running around the sofa or the room.

You may not be as lucky as this, but try to stay calm when you introduce your pets, as otherwise they may pick up on your tension. Don’t scold them for curiosity, allow them to sniff, lick or touch each other, only step in if things are getting rough, or one of the animals looks fearful. It won’t take long for them to become friends, or to learn to ignore each other – just be watchful and never leave them unsupervised until you are sure that both parties can be trusted.

I hope that these few tips brought you from my own experiences with keeping a house rabbit will have shown you just how easy it can be, and what a pleasure it will bring both you and your rabbit.