Is your rabbit following you around and everywhere you go?
Rabbits are very social animals that like spending time with their owners. They see their human companions as sources of comfort and security and will always follow them around.
Rabbits have been described to be jealous creatures to some extent. This is because they constantly crave the full attention of their owner.
In this article, we will discuss the various reasons your rabbits may be following you around and determine if it is right to let them do so.
QUICK ANSWER!
Your rabbits may be following you everywhere for some of these reasons:Affection and Attention, Curiosity, Hunger, Trust and Security, Lack of Mental Stimulation, Etc
Contents
Reasons Why Your Rabbit Keeps Following You
It is a normal habit for a rabbit to follow its human companion around.
However, there are specific reasons why your rabbit may be following you around.
They include:
Affection and Attention
Rabbits are overly sensitive and emotional creatures. They are affectionate animals that will often crave the affection and attention of their human companions.
This is a simple reason why your rabbit may be following you around. It is simply trying to get your attention so you can dote on it frequently.
As social animals, rabbits love attention and can get bored and lonely when they feel starved of attention and affection. Thus, they might be following you around to seek your affection and attention.
Curiosity
Naturally, rabbits are very curious animals that appreciate exploring their environment. As animals that easily get bored, they might always be on the move to explore new places and may follow you around to do so.
As a very curious and investigative animal that possess a keen sense of smell and perception, rabbits will easily grow curious about even the slightest changes in their environment and will want to investigate it.
For this reason, they may follow you around to do so.
Hunger
Rabbits are herbivores. By their nature, they do not take huge amounts of good at a go but will need to be fed constantly to thrive.
Your rabbit may be following you as a way of indicating that it is hungry. Rabbits may sometimes be mistaken to be light eaters due to their small structure but they may sometimes have huge appetites.
So, they will constantly need to be fed. Be careful and observant when your rabbit is following you around. If it stops occasionally to nibble on something, it might be trying to show you that it is hungry.
Rabbits can not bark like dogs to indicate that they are hungry so you need to constantly watch them closely to detect if hunger is the reason they are following you around.
Trust and Security
Rabbits are very fragile animals that are vulnerable to predators. As prey animals, they will normally be timid, scared, and startled by potential threats.
They may be following you around to indicate that they trust you as their companion. Your presence may be reassuring to them and makes them feel safe.
So, they may be following you around because they trust you to protect them.
Loneliness, the scent of predators, and even the slightest noise can make rabbits anxious. If your presence is reassuring to your rabbit it may begin to follow you around.
Lack of Mental Stimulation
Boredom is another reason why your rabbit may be following you around. If your rabbit doesn’t have enough mental stimulation to keep it busy on its own, it may start following you around out of boredom.
You should provide your rabbit with toys, playtime, and plenty of space to explore to help prevent it from getting bored and keep your rabbit happy and healthy.
Comfort
Rabbits easily feel uneasy and edgy. They are prey animals that are also very fragile and emotional.
So, if they begin to feel uneasy, they might start following you. Rabbits are not very vocal and prefer using subtle signs to express their feelings.
Your rabbit might be following you around because it feels uncomfortable and is in need of comfort and a little doting from you.
Should You Allow Your Rabbit To Keep Following You?
You may be wondering if it is right to let your rabbit follow you. It is usually advised to humor them constantly and allow them to follow you.
Rabbits are very intelligent animals but they need to keep their mind constantly stimulated to prevent them from growing bored.
If you let your rabbit follow you around, it may come upon new environments that will heighten its curiosity and keep its mind active.
Also, allowing your rabbit to follow you is another way of helping it get the required amount of exercise it needs daily.
Rabbits may get obese if they are constantly kept idle. Letting them follow you is a handy way of avoiding such.
Rabbits are species that get rid of excess calcium through their kidneys. This means that they are very prone to getting stones in their bladder.
Allowing them to follow you will help prevent that because when they are constantly hoping behind you, the calcium will not settle into stones.
Conclusion
Being a very intelligent and emotional creature, rabbits have various ways of communicating their feelings.
Following you around is one of these ways. You should be observant and sensitive enough to detect their moods and feelings when they follow you around.
We hope this article helped you know the reasons why your rabbit may be following you around. If you have any questions, please comment below.
Resource
- Anne Mcbride, E. Magnus, G. Hearne. Behaviour problems in the domestic rabbit. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313158179_Behaviour_problems_in_the_domestic_rabbit