Gradual Change in Behavior

[bouncingsquares]

I adopted a female Dutch rabbit about five months ago. I went into our local feed store to get dog food, and there was this beautiful bunny whose owners had surrendered her. The cashier tried to talk me into taking her, but I declined. I went home, did some research on rabbits, talked to my husband, and ended up going back to get her the next day. I just couldn’t let her be stuck there. Unfortunately, whoever took her in didn’t find it pertinent to get any history on bunny. They had no idea how old she was, whether she was kept in a cage all the time…nothing. (She was fully grown, so she wasn’t a baby, but that’s all I know.)

Bunny came with her cage, but it had no litterbox in it. I put a box in the corner she had been using, and she started using the box. I then put two other litterboxes at other places in the house. We started letting her out for short periods of time, and at first, she pooped all around her cage. After a few days, though, she started using the litterboxes exclusively. She didn’t do anything destructive, so we gradually extended the amount of time she was out of the cage, until we were comfortable only putting her in there at bedtime. We have always tried to give her space. We never reach into the cage to pick her up, and we don’t try to approach her to pet her. If she comes to us, that is the only time we will pet her. After a couple of weeks, she would come and sit in our laps and allow us to pet her as long as we pleased.

Over the last two months, she has become a monster. She has started pooping all over the house. The other day, I was making my bed when she hopped up onto the bed and peed! We have offered her ALL kinds of toys, and she wants nothing to do with them, but she has started pulling up the carpet. If she decides to get in your lap, she will bite you or dig at your leg if you don’t get to petting her fast enough, and if you stop petting her before she’s satisfied, you get the same results. We had taught her that “go home” means go to the cage because it’s time for bed, and she used to go willingly, knowing she would get a treat when she went. Now when you tell her to “go home,” she thumps and growls. She has also shown some minor aggression toward my cats, whereas before, she would always try to cuddle and groom them. (The cats wanted nothing to do with it, but they would just walk away from her. None of them have ever shown her any aggression.) As her behavior has gotten progressively worse, we’ve been giving her less and less free time. We’re at the point now where she is only out of the cage 1-2 hours per day. I feel really guilty about it; I never wanted to have a rabbit that lived in a cage. But she can’t be left unsupervised, and I can’t realistically come home from work and supervise the rabbit until I go to bed.

Also – this may or may not be relevant, but she refuses to eat any kind of fresh fruits or vegetables except blackberries or raspberries. I know that berries are only supposed to be a treat, so she doesn’t get them often, but I worry about her only eating pellets and hay.

Thanks in advance for any advice you may have to offer!

[AnonBunnyBlogger]

Do you know if she is spayed? An un-spayed female can be a little fussy from time to time because, well, she’s like any female who gets hormonal. Also, if she is a “teenager” bunny, they can be quite difficult and have a bad temper. They usually grow out of it.

[Flopsie]

I want to say the first and one of the most important questions is, is she spayed. This can be critical

[Flopsie]

I want to say the first and one of the most important questions is, is she spayed. This can be critical

[Author]

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