How to make parents love bunnies

[Deondra]

I just realised how much i love bunnies (since 8 years ago) but have never actively wanted to owning a bunny. But these few weeks, the sudden urge came upon me and before I know it, I’ve already begun doing all sorts of research about owning a bunny in a tropical country like Singapore (Where to adopt/buy one, where to get affordable yet good quality hay, how to keep them cool, what they should and what they cannot eat, how to bunny proof my house, where to get all the bunny supplies I am going to need)

After doing all that research I finally told my mum that i wanted to have a bunny ( im responsible for all the things I own) but she kept saying no. She did not mention anything about the costs of owning a rabbit since she knows that I will handle it well as im good with financial planning. She just doesnt like having furry animals in the house and said that the hassle of having another “thing” to take care of is very bothersome even though I said that i would do all the cleaning up and buying of the supplies the bunny would need (Basically I would handle most of the bunny care myself). I am really really upset right now and feel that no matter what i say to my mum she doesnt think logically and just says no. (Im very sorry to say this but, it is a fact that my mum isnt very educated and I feel that her rejecting the idea of owning a bunny without a good reason is just very immature). She wouldn’t even give me more details about why she doesnt want to have a bunny in the house. When she does that, I just feel so helpless. She doesnt even give me a chance to tell her why I want a bunny and the advantages of having a bunny around! I am very aware of what i takes to own a bunny which is why I proposed to my mum that I will only want to have a bunny after I graduate from junior college, get a part time job and that I will contribute to 50% of the costs of raising the bunny (initial costs will be covered by me)

She just told me to get a bunny when I move out of the house (which would be more than 10 years in the future or even NEVER if I dont get married – asian culture)

How can I convince my mum to let me have one? (A powerpoint slide wouldnt work since she isnt educated and just hates reading things but she wouldnt listen to me and that usually just gets me so pissed at her I just stop talking to her) How can I assure her that I will be the one thats doing most of the caretaking (Ive told her countless times but she just doesnt believe me) How can I make her fall in love with rabbits so that she’ll understand how I feel and want to bring one home herself too? If I told her that I’ll bring her to a rabbit rescue, she’ll just refuse to go with me. Besides, she would sy she’s tired after helping my dad out at work and would not go out with me given that the nearest rabbit rescue is 45mins away from home.

[jerseygirl]

Oh that’s tough. I remember what it was like when my parents wouldn’t discuss something with me or at least give me their reasons for refusing something. So frustrating!

You’ve already had the idea I was thinking as I read your post – to go to a rescue together so she could see what they were like.
Do you have friends that have rabbits? If you and your mum visited them instead?

Would she allow you to foster a rabbit maybe? Or pet sit, so she gets an idea of what they’re like in the home?

In regards to learning about rabbits, I do remember Singapore has a house rabbit society chapter. Have you seen that website?

[ThorBunny]

Tough situation you are in,

I agree that it would be best to do this gradually!

If you can get in touch with that local rabbit rescue, you could see about fostering “temporarily” so that your mom could see you would take great care of the rabbit without her needing to do anything. And she would have the added safety net of knowing the rabbit could go back and have a good life if it didn’t work out.

I bet she would warm up to a bunny after a while On a side note, I had a mother similarly adverse to all pets (also Asian, culture thing?) but when I moved out I was able to get many animals including Thor! I know from experience it feels like a long time, but if you truly love animals and pets, there is nothing stopping you from getting one when you have the means. Keep us updated!

[Deondra]

I dont remember any friends having rabbits though. Maybe I could try convincing her to allow me to foster!!! Thank you for your suggestion!
Also, I’ve seen their website before! I was thinking of going there to adopt one if my mum were to ever allow me to have a rabbit!

[Deondra]

I hope she’ll allow me to at least foster one!! Hopefully after that, she’ll fall in love with rabbits!
Btw omg that sounds really awesome having that many pets in your house!
Thank you for the suggestion!

[jerseygirl]

I’ve looked at that site many times over the years and always found it very good!

You may like to look into volunteering with them also. That way, you get interaction with rabbits (Yay!), ongoing education on rabbit care, you help out for a worthy cause AND you demonstate to your parents that you really have a keen interest in rabbits. I would hope in time they would see you are really committed and re-evaluate their stance on you having a rabbit as a pet. They hold events too, that you could attend if not too far from home.

There could be some age restrictions or location restrictions on fostering (ie. you’d need to be somewhere potential adopters can come see the rabbit, or be able to take to foster to them or the rescue for those times). Also some restrictions with volunteering, but it wouldn’t hurt to make contact and work out a way you can be more involved. 

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