6 Things You May Not Know About Bunnies

When I was growing up, I only experienced being around bunnies for very short amounts of time, usually at a pet store or petting zoo. I always thought they were adorable and wanted one of my own, but I didn’t know what they were actually like to interact with beyond my short encounters with them. I thought of them as shy, scared creatures that ran and hid from everything.

About a year ago, my boyfriend found himself in a very uncomfortable situation. An acquaintance of his had just bought a baby bunny, but it was pretty obvious to my boyfriend that the poor bunny was being neglected. The acquaintance did not give the bunny food or water regularly, never cleaned his cage, and refused to take him to a veterinarian when his leg broke from being dropped. Luckily, my boyfriend convinced this person that he could take care of the bunny better, and I agreed to help him take care of our new mini Rex, Mochi.

After spending so much time around Mochi and caring for him, I’ve realized that there is so much more to him than my limited past understanding of bunnies. Here are six things I learned about bunnies that you may not know!

1) Contrary to my earlier belief that rabbits were like hamsters and mostly belonged in a cage, rabbits don’t do well living in cages. According to Peta, rabbits need a lot of space to live and be active in. They also like to have different areas within that space to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, Mochi spent the first few months of his life stuck in a cage that was too small for him to get any kind of exercise, but he loves his living area now. It’s like a little indoor playpen for bunnies – inside is an always-open bunny cage, a small carpeted part of a cat tower for him to hide in, food, water, toys to chew on, and his litter box. If you are considering adopting a bunny, make sure you have enough space to provide a small area like this for your future friend.

Mochi loves eating fresh fruits and veggies in his playpen!

2) No, I wasn’t joking about Mochi having a litter box, because bunnies can be litter trained! Mochi learned very fast where he was supposed to go to the bathroom and he has been very good about not having any accidents around my boyfriend’s home. The best part about your bunny being litter trained is that they can roam around your home without you having to worry about accidents. Just make sure that if you are letting your bunny roam freely around the house that you are supervising because bunnies can get destructive with carpet or electrical wires. If you are interested in litter training your bunny, here is a great guide to help you through it.  

3) When bunnies are especially happy, they bink. Bunny binking is when bunnies show how happy they feel by jumping and kicking their feet, giving a huge shiver, or running around in circles. If you’ve ever witnessed this, you know how enjoyable and funny it is to watch. Mochi did a lot of binking after being rescued and still does when he’s on my boyfriend’s bed or when my boyfriend comes home after work. If you’re still not sure what I mean, check out these two bunnies binking their hearts out!

Mochi always “bunny purrs” when I pet him.

4) Bunnies are great at showing when they enjoy themselves and even have their own version of purring when you pet them. Their teeth chatter together and you can feel it when you pet their head. Can you hear the purring in this video?

5) The biggest thing that I’ve noticed since meeting Mochi is that bunnies have big personalities with feisty attitudes. When they are bored or perceive that they are being ignored, they can become destructive to gain your attention by pulling up carpet or chewing on furniture or electrical wires. My boyfriend swears that Mochi never becomes destructive until he is busy with something and isn’t paying attention to Mochi. I’ve witnessed this too, and Mochi will even start nudging or nipping at our feet when he wants to be pet. Mochi also likes to throw his toys around in his playpen and when he wants to come out he will push a hanging bell toy around until we get the picture and let him out.

Maggie thinks Mochi’s playpen is fun!

6) The most surprising thing that I learned about bunnies is that they get along pretty well with cats! Before my boyfriend and I agreed that he would rescue Mochi, we were a little worried about how well he would get along with my boyfriend’s two cats, so I did some online research about how best to introduce cats and bunnies. It seemed simple enough: keep them separated for a while but able to smell and see each other, and gradually introduce them to each other. We tried this, and it was a lot easier than we had hoped for! Mochi and the cats, Benny and Maggie, got along perfectly the first time they met without fighting of any kind. They are all the best of friends now; they play together and they will all take turns chasing each other around. Benny and Maggie love going into Mochi’s playpen and hanging out with him. Of course this all depends on the rabbit’s and cat’s personality, so if you are thinking of introducing the two make sure to approach this slowly and cautiously so you can prevent any fighting that may occur. With any luck, you could have a pair like these two!

What unusual facts have you heard about bunnies? Leave a comment and let us know!