Is it worth getting a rabbit in an apartment, the pros and cons of keeping
Keeping animals at home is a big responsibility. Pets need attention, care and love. Before you start an unusual fluffy animal, you need to familiarize yourself with the positive and negative consequences of such a choice. The presence of a rabbit in a house or apartment has pros and cons. Therefore, it is also helpful to listen to the opinion of the pet owners.
Pros of keeping rabbits at home
Not everyone can afford to keep exotic animals at home. If you want to get away from the traditional cat-dog version, you can get cute decorative rabbits. Moreover, there are several positive aspects of keeping animals at home:
- due to cleanliness, rabbits always allocate a "toilet" zone to the cage. Therefore, it is not difficult to put things in order in the dwelling of fuzzies;
- animals do not show aggression. If you constantly feed the animals from your hands, pay attention to them, then after a while they become attached to the owners;
- fluffy and incredibly soft fur is pleasant to iron. This procedure always gives pleasure not only to pets, but also to the owners;
- rabbit care is not difficult and does not take much time. You don't need to bathe them regularly. Therefore, you can entrust older children with taking care of the animal.
Advice! The pet diet is simple. You can purchase special, inexpensive food. To diversify the diet, the animal is fed with carrots, apples, cucumbers, fresh grass.
Rabbits live on average 10-15 years. During this time, pets become real family members, with their own habits and habits. Due to the unpretentious lifestyle of the fluffy, the owners often take them with them on trips.
What are the downsides?
The appearance of any animals in the house has positive and negative sides. And, if in relation to cats or dogs everything is more or less clear, then caring for unusual animals raises a lot of questions. Before you start cute and harmless rabbits, you need to familiarize yourself with the cons of their content:
- do not count on the manifestation of rabbit "intelligence", even after several years of training. You can teach a furry pet to respond to a nickname. But do not count on "mutual understanding" shown by dogs or cats;
- a spacious cage is needed to keep a pet. Also, the animal needs time every day to move freely around the house or yard. Therefore, every day you will have to control the movement of the fluffy for 2-3 hours;
- in terms of smells, it should be borne in mind that rabbits "mark" the territory. The pet does not always get used to the tray, sometimes it can relieve itself in the wrong place;
- rabbits are rodents, so it is impossible to wean the pet from the need to constantly gnaw something. It is important to remove all wires and cords from the floor.The possibility of damage to wooden furniture remains.
Animals are nocturnal. Therefore, the pet can sleep most of the time during the day, and at night it can eat and rustle. Rabbits also need daily grooming. If this procedure is neglected, then wool will eventually appear on furniture and clothes.
Some notes from the owner's experience
It is the feedback and experience of the owners of fluffy animals that help you decide whether to get a rabbit or not. A few recommendations:
- when traveling with rabbits, you need to prepare the same package of documents as when transporting cats / dogs (a passport with vaccination marks and a "fresh" certificate from a veterinarian is required);
- rabbits are social animals and, if the owners are constantly at work, then the animal may not take root in the family, it will be scared of everyone and may even bite. Some owners note that the rabbit recognizes one owner and is reluctant to go into the arms of other people;
- if the family has small active children, it is not recommended to have a small pet. You can purchase an animal for a child aged 10-13 years. Small children will not be able to take serious care of the animal and are able to scare it;
- rabbits are calmer than rabbits. Although this feature is also set by the character of the individual. Fuzzies get along well with other pets;
- owners like the fact that rabbits are not walked outside, and it takes a minimum of time to service the animals and clean the cage.
It is possible to train the animal to respond to the name, to the tray. It is worth remembering that a rabbit is an animal that bites, is capable of throwing itself in the face. They also take into account the fearful nature of animals, you cannot leave them alone for a long time. Lovely creatures evoke affection for both children and adults. Animals require a minimum of care and always respond to affection and attention. In order for the animals to fully develop, it is necessary to choose the right nutrition, to equip a suitable place for keeping.