So why does my pet rabbit hate me? Because of how vulnerable they are to predators, rabbits tend to be a lot sensitive than other animals. They have a hard time trusting people and only do so once their safety and comfort are guaranteed. When you try to pick up a rabbit for the first time, it could bite or try to wiggle free from your grip. This is because they are suspicious of every move a stranger makes even when intentions are pure.
With time though, your rabbit may start to get accustomed to you. It is only this time that they can allow you to get close enough to touch or cuddle them. Despite their fretful nature rabbits still crave human attention but only when they are in full control of their space.
Making a rabbit to like you takes time, effort, and a deal of patience on your part. And once you’ve been able to earn their trust, rabbits can turn out to be a great companion and best friend. Nonetheless, you should not take their trust for granted. One wrong move can make them dislike you and earning that trust again will be very difficult.
In this article, we will be discussing a few of those things that can cause a rabbit to hate or mistrust you. Below are the topics we will be discussing so that you can resolve your “my rabbit hates me” problem:
- Why does my rabbit not like me anymore?
- How do you get your bunny to trust you?
- What do you do if your rabbit doesn’t like you?
- How do you know if your rabbit doesn’t like you?
Why Does My Rabbit Not Like Me Anymore?
Sometimes, even when you have the best intentions towards your rabbit, it can begin to act in very unfriendly ways. It can even get to levels where it starts to avoid or run away from you. This type of behavior may leave you feeling worried and guilty. But does your pet rabbit hate you?
Rabbits often express their grievances in several ways. The most common of them are freezing, trying to wiggle from your grip, or simply skitting away from you.
The truth is, when a rabbit begins to behave in an unfriendly manner, it doesn’t mean you did something wrong. Several other factors can contribute to this new attitude including ill health, stress, loud noises, environmental changes, or a strange smell.
When a rabbit starts behaving oddly towards you, you may need to consider the following factors:
Rabbits are wild animals by nature:
You need to understand that rabbits are naturally wild animals. The fact that they can be domesticated does not take away their primal instincts of survival. Rabbits are on the bottom of the prey list for many predators, which makes them act suspicious when they feel uncomfortable.
Even after your rabbit has become relaxed around you, they still possess this natural survival instinct. They may get comfortable with you handling them but this can change instinctively if they feel threatened, anxious, or stressed out. But does your pet rabbit hate you? Not necessarily.
Look For Underlying Medical Issues:
Rabbits may have a host of underlying medical issues that they prefer to conceal for fear of being vulnerable. This is very common in the wild, where injury or pain is a sign of weakness and can attract lurking predators. The same thing is applicable even in a domesticated environment.
Your pet bunny may choose to hide an injury or illness from you to recover by itself before it returns to its normal self. It doesn’t mean your rabbit has anything against you; it is simply just wired that way.
Pay Attention to Environmental Changes:
Environment changes can span a range of things to include new faces in the home, change in diet, toys, or even a strange noise. When your pet bunny notices these changes, its first reaction may be to retract and be by itself. It is simply trying to study the environment before readjusting to these new changes.
Small and subtle changes can lead to stress in your rabbits which ultimately causes them to behave unfriendly towards you.
They Don’t Like Loud Noises:
Loud noises are one of the top triggers of unfriendly behaviors in rabbits. Another thing is, what a human can interpret as small noise can be loud and very distressing to a rabbit. Imagine using an electric blender close to a rabbit’s cage. Because of how sudden the noise of a blender is when powered can send the rabbit into a fix of anxiety.
At this point, its reflexes kick in as it senses what it thinks of as dangerous, and could even attempt to flee its cage.
They Are Sensitive To a Strange Odor:
Rabbits tend to resist being held if they sense a particular odor they are not comfortable with. Most rabbits tend to dislike smells that are close to those of a dog or a cat, which they consider predators.
Even certain smells that remind them of a bad experience can make them unfriendly towards you. A set of rabbits rescued from a burning bush will be triggered by the smell of burning vegetation nearby.
They May Have Anxiety And Stress:
Stress is one of the major causes of strange unfriendly behaviors in rabbits. Rabbits are not designed by nature to be domesticated; they are descendants of wild ancestors. There are times when your pet bunnies might just be a little withdrawn. They may not respond to your calls and will become less playful. This is often nothing to worry about as they may only have some alone time to be just by themselves.
How Do You Get Your Pet Rabbit To Trust You And Not Hate You?
If you find out your rabbit no longer trusts you or you think “does my pet rabbit hate me”, here are a few things you could do to make your pet bunny start trusting you again:
Slow Talks:
Slow talks can help build broken trust between you and your rabbit. Rabbits have very sensitive ears and can interpret tones and emotions very well. When you start talking calmly to a rabbit, it starts to sense that friendly and caring side of you again.
Better still, you can get on your knees to come down to its level to make it feel a lot more comfortable. With time, it will start to rebuild its trust.
Study Your Pet Bunny:
It is good to find out what your rabbit likes and dislikes. Having great insight into your rabbits’ unique abilities helps you in times when they start to act in a mistrusting manner. If a rabbit stop enjoying a particular activity or a location in the house as it used to before, it’s time to make some investigations.
A strange smell can make a rabbit stop playing in certain areas and until you fix this issue, it may continue to have mistrust or “my rabbit hates me” issues.
Try Bonding With Your Pet Rabbit:
To get your rabbit’s attention and make it trust you again, you can tease it with a treat and make them reach for it. Sit by the edge of a chair and hold out a small treat in the air (could be a small carrot top). Chances are, it may decide to reach for it.
Once it does this, you can raise your hand a little higher to make builds its interest in the little game. Some rabbits will continue to jump until it gets the treat out of your hands. Little games like this can rekindle broken trust between a pet rabbit and its owner.
What Do You Do If Your Pet Rabbit Hates You?
If you suddenly start to ask yourself does my pet rabbit hate me, it could be a result of many factors that could be directly or indirectly connected to you. However, in most cases, your rabbit will return to normal in a couple of days.
There are very rare instances where a pet rabbit may remain unfriendly for a relatively long period. When this happens, you need to consider any one of the following:
- You may have spooked your pet bunny several times with a short time interval. Like the illustration of a blender above. Using a blender for a longer-than-normal time can cause it to withdraw when you come close to it. It has now become suspicious of you.
- Bringing home a new rabbit may cause an older pet rabbit to become mistrusting. It sees this new bunny as a threat to its space and it may start to view you as a traitor.
- You simply may have displayed a trait that reminds the rabbit of a bad experience.
- You may have generally stopped giving it the same care as you used to before.
How Do You Know If Your Rabbit May Hate You?
Below are four strong indications that a rabbit does not like you:
- When a rabbit would freeze anytime you attempt to touch or play with it. This type of reaction indicates some form of irritation on its part.
- Your rabbit may run away anytime you come close to it. This means that is scared of you.
- Another way to know when a rabbit doesn’t like you is that it stops eating from your hand.
- Lastly, if your rabbit likes to wiggle away from your grip anytime you attempt to cuddle it, it simply isn’t comfortable around you.