In a difficult situation...

Hia, I know I’ve not posted on here for absolutely ages but I need advice off you guys . Sorry this is really really long. Back in July my Bfs mum decided she wanted to get rabbits for the kids that she child minds. I tried getting my bf to persuade her not to as the kids ages range from few months to about 10yrs most being 2-4yrs. I said to ask her why doesn’t she get kittens and she went oh no they might scratch kids then parents will sue me. I told her that rabbits are just as likely to scratch and bite especially when handled by young children as they will be frightened. Main reason I thought it was a bad idea though is that she doesn’t have much money and wasn’t likely to get the best for them. She still went ahead and got 2 females from P@H at end of July. I went to see them that month and they were inside in the front room. They were so gorgeous and friendly, licking me and binkying loads obviously well loved. I was concerned about the hutch size though as it was cheaply made and only a 4ft single hutch. I said they would defo need a bigger one once they grew up. They didn’t have any toys either, as 'she couldn’t afford any' .

I went back couple of weeks later with some timothy hay and a few toys so they had atleast something.

Unfortunately I hadn’t been around for ages after that due to a falling out with his family. One of the rabbits died about 3-4months ago due to a bite on her neck, which the vets believed to be a cat or rat. Rabbit wasn’t took to vets soon enough so she couldn't breathe . Apparently one vet thought that it was a rabbit bite but the family were denying it so possibly the fact that to unsprayed females were confined in a small space and had a fight? I did try saying female - female pairs weren't the best to start with as they do fall out easily especially when hormones kick in.

I stayed at my bfs for a week over xmas period and was horrified to find that the remaining rabbit (Thumper a lop) was still in the same hutch. She is a medium sized bunny now and is clearly far too big to fit in the hutch. She can’t stand on her back feet properly and had no room to move. She had a small amount of sawdust in the living area with no toys other than a teddy which took most of her space up. She also had no hay or water. I decided to clean her out and tried open sleeping area but it was stuck shut so could only be opened from the inside. Got the bf to open it and found about 2-3inchs of trampled poo and wee it absolutely stank . She probably hadn’t been cleaned out for a good few weeks. I removed all the rubbish and put newspaper down and hay on top of it. The next day I went and bought more timothy hay (bfs mum obviously didn’t listen to me when I told her how good it is for their teeth), straw, toys, veg, herbs and disinfectant (spent nearly £28). I completely blitzed the hutch and put straw down in the living area with her new toys and her timothy hay, and changed the bedding in sleeping area.

I brought her in the day I got to the house and checked her bum and claws (both were fine although claws were starting get a bit long) but I noticed that on her eye (can’t remember which one) the coloured area was cloudy on the bottom half, also noticed that she didn’t blink when i put finger near the eye and also she had some small bumps on the outside of her ears that look like scabs. I mentioned this to the bfs mum and got Thumper out to show her and she said she would take her to vets. Don’t think she has bothered though. So if anyone has any ideas about the eye then that would be great help . While I was holding Thumper, bfs mum said ‘she still licks you when you cuddle her’ with a huge smile on her face. I forced a smile back but was thinking yeah probably because poor thing is lonely and wants a bunny to snuggle up to in the cold. She also said we get our hay from the pet shop because it’s cheaper :@. I think novelty now worn off now she’s grown up and isn't a baby anymore. The week I was there Thumper didn’t come out once apart from when I got her out and only got attention when I cleaned her out. Her diet seemed to consist of about 2-3handfuls of burgess fruity nuggets and occasionally a few bits of carrot and lettuce maybe hay every few weeks? I looked in fridge and found tomato and broccoli to try her on and but a few bits of plantain.

I really hoped that her situation would change and did keep nagging about the size of the hutch but it just hasn't sunk in .

Went round last Saturday and situation is same as before. She has a tarpaulin on top of the hutch which gets put down at night but it was about 3pm when I went so it was up and was raining. I went and felt the straw it was sodden and obviously hadn’t been changed as there was hardly any left. She had a bit of water but no hay or food. I peeped into sleeping area and it didn’t look like it had been changed for at least a week but bf says he does it at the weekend but he can’t due during the week as he starts work really early. So she hadn’t had fresh hay for a week. It made me so angry. Her eye is still in the same condition and so are her ears so that makes me think she hasn’t been took to the vets. I can’t see her ever being rushed to the vets if she ever gets really ill. Unfortunately I couldn’t sort her out as was meeting the bf to go out. She is about 8-9months old now and not been spayed.

What makes me most angry is that bfs mum and dad are always going on about getting a new car and don’t care that their rabbit is in a tiny hutch with no-one to snuggle up to :@. They apparently never have any money so I can’t see them paying for her to be spayed or get a decent hutch. His mum is in most of the day too and bfs sister is usually there to help look after the kids so it’s not hard to spend 5minutes changing bedding and putting fresh hay in . They were thinking about getting another rabbit but that is not going to happen and I won’t let it when she’s in such a confined space. So it has left me in such a difficult situation because I have tried telling and nagging but nothing has happened and I really don’t want to get the RSPCA or similar involved because they would know it’s me and that would put a strain on my bfs and my relationship. I don’t think they will let Thumper go to be re-homed.

These are the options I can think of:
1. Rabbit remains in same condition and suffer. (Really don’t want this to happen)
2. Bf and I pay for a hutch and she remains at his house. (Don’t think that his mum will keep up with the cleaning out tho and feeding properly)
3. Rabbit gets put into a rescue. (Don’t think they would be willing give her up tho)
4. Rabbit comes to live with my mum and I, maybe even temporally until bfs mum can afford hutch. (Don’t think my mum (Sixer) will agree to this tho and the only spare we have is a double story 4ft hutch so still too small but slightly bigger)

That’s all I can think of :/ This is really getting to me, all I can think about is poor Thumper suffering and it is really getting me upset. I keep crying about her and trying to think of ways to help her. Any ideas are appreciated. Sorry about this being so long just had to tell someone because my mum doesn’t want to talk about it. I may be staying over on Saturday night so if I am I will clean her out properly and post some piccies. She is a really cute girl She is mostly black with white paws and a white splodge

It also annoys me that I was 14 when I first wanted rabbits and I researched them for about 2-3months before thinking about getting any and wrote a list of everything I would need and how much it would cost. The Bfs mum is 40odd and I showed a lot more responsibility and maturity than her.

Thanks for reading

I have a spare hutch, get the rabbit out of those conditions hun. It would play on my mind too xox

Oh dear I don't have much advice but I know how you feel, my OHs sister has a rabbit and two small children, she looks after the bunny properly but one of her girls was cruel to the last rabbit they had and they are too loud and boisterous and scare Bell (the bun) yet me and the OH can't call the RSPCA for similar reasons you said and so we are just trying to keep an eye on it when we go round there .

You have done really well though and I hope it doesn't get worse. Maybe you could show your boyfriends mum photos of abused bunnys i.e ones which haven't had enough hay and their teeth over grow...maybe this will shock her into taking some action?!

To me the clouding of the eye sounds like a classic symptom that she may be blind in it. I think you need to get her out of there for now and i'm sure your Mum would rather she be safe and well looked after even if it is just temporary.

Get her out hun.....and dont give her back.

Ask if you can have her - they may be glad to be rid of her.

Even another small hutch with you will be better than the conditions with them. With you she will be clean and looked after and a 4 ft double is better than a 4 ft single..

Even if its just until you can get her into a rescue.

Good luck honey.

[b] I would tend to let the address slip to a close friend or someone you trust on here let them do the rest may seem underhand but they deserve all they get

I would get her out. She is breaking the law by keeping the rabbit in this condition. ( clicky ) perhaps that may sway her?

Well done for trying to turn this round, but the lady clearly isn't going to listen. There are couple of rescues on here not too far from you that may be able to help. Good luck and keep us posted on what happens.

Yup you have to get bun out of there. I am so sorry you are in this position hun x

Thanks for the advice . I will try and talk to my mum later but whenever I try to she just says I don't want to hear it :/. I might get her to have a look at this thread but don't think I will be allowed to bring her here . Don't think situation is going to get better any time soon though as bfs nan is in hospital really ill so Thumper more likely to get ignored. They were supposed be getting a new big hutch maybe 4-5 months ago and that has never happened (probably because a relative was going to buy it but never did)

Maybe she could just disappear from the hutch and appear in my bedroom. I would quite happily let her live in my room as Gabriel has already chewed through most of my wires and she can guard my hamster from Paddy the cat . On saturday am going to ask bfs mum if she took Thumper to vets about her eye and if she hasn't I will bring up all things she doing wrong and tell her its prob best if she doesn't have the rabbit, as she doesn't have the time or money to put into the animals welfare so its best if she goes somewhere where she will be looked after and loved.

Will print that off Jay and show her. As far as I can tell she isn't meeting any of them standards
I don't understand how a car is more important than a living creature. I think maybe Thumper is atleast partly blind as I had her in the kitchen and she was really cautious and reaching out to check how far away everything is and wasn't zooming around but she kept coming back over to me God knows how long her eye has been like that but probably a long time.

[b] Good look with watever you try. You could always tell your mum thats its realy the cat in the bedroom and she has taken to wearing bunny costumes. Good look again and I am sure that the Bunny will apreciate it

It make sme really sad to think of a bun all on it's own in a tiny hutch with no run to play in or grass to binky on Give yourself a huge pat on the back for caring and trying to help this poor soul. I think we all agree the bun needs to get out of there, it's finding the best way to do it. Perhaps local rescues are the way forward, just kidnap the poor thing, they probably won't even notice Thumper has gone . Good luck, and keep us posted.

If she's out in the garden it could be a good chance to...."steal" her...a bit naughty...but maybe a last resort >_<...make it looks like the hutch was left open or something?! I hope you find a solution