Can Rabbits Wear Clothes?

What to Consider Before Putting Clothes on Your Bunny

Can you put your bunny in clothes? Yes. It's a natural human urge to want to dress our pets, no doubt an extension of the maternal or paternal instincts that make us want to clothe our children. Keep in mind, though, that there are a few common-sense precautions that you need to take ahead of time.

1. Is your bunny handleable?

If you haven't handled your bunny much, and it doesn't like to be picked up or stroked or played with at all, then you should not be putting clothes on it. First of all, you will stress the bunny out by doing this and increase the chances of you hurting it by mistake. Second of all, it may be very hard to remove the clothes if something goes wrong or if your rabbit is not accustomed to regular handling.

If you haven't got to the stage of trust with your rabbit, where you can handle it safely and comfortably, then you need to take the time and do the groundwork to make friends with your rabbit. This could easily take several months, but if you have the patience and the time, you'll find that it pays off in far more ways than one.

2. Do the clothes fit?

Sounds a little obvious, but it's really tempting to put clothes that don't fit very well on bunnies just because they are cute. The problem is that loose clothing, clothing that bunches in the wrong place, and clothing that gets caught up around the legs is a disaster waiting to happen. Remember that some bunnies have been known to break their own backs just from struggling whilst being handled and that having clothing put on it is quite a foreign sensation.

3. Is your bunny happy wearing clothes?

Rabbits that are used to being handled may have no problem at all with having a little sweater put on them and hop about quite happily that way. Other, more highly stressed bunnies may find it quite distressing. If your rabbit fights you hard on this, then abandon the plan for another day or perhaps altogether. As cute as a bunny wearing clothes is, it's not worth stressing and hurting your bunny over.

Never Leave a Rabbit Wearing Clothes Unsupervised

They can cause it to overheat or get caught in something, and they prevent the rabbit from grooming itself naturally. It might be cute to do for short periods of time, but give your bunny a break and let it out of the clothing before too much time has passed. I personally don't put my bunny in clothes for any more than 10–15 minutes.

Good luck. Remember to put your rabbit's health and happiness before your desire to see them do 'cute' things, and you are sure to have lots of fun with your bunny.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. It is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, or formal and individualized advice from a veterinary medical professional. Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.

© 2008 Bunniez

Comments

Carolyn on July 17, 2018:

Shoes? Is there any way you can post something about bunny safety with shoes? I’m not sure if rabbits are supposed to wear shoes or not. (Disclaimer: I do not put shoes on my rabbit)

Nancy on October 24, 2016:

I got my bunny diapers (Made in USA) from https://bunnydiapers.com/

Lucy on February 26, 2016:

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My bunny loves his clothes if i dont put it on him he gets upset.

wendy on February 23, 2015:

Were do you buy bunny clothes

abby on January 23, 2015:

I got a bunny and I've been looking for bunny leashes and clothing but i can't find any good websites

shriah on October 12, 2013:

im getting a bunny for christmas and i just want to know if i can put cothes on my bunny the type of bunny iam getting is a lion head bunny

Claudia on December 29, 2012:

So no clothes for a long time? I wanted to get a little tshirt or vest for my oldest bunny because the younger one keeps cutting and some times pulling his fur. Now he has patches were his fur is close cropped to his skin and I haven't found a way to stop it, so I thought maybe if I covered him at least while it grows it may help.

Emma on February 05, 2012:

Can I get clothes at dollar tree for lionhead rabbit anyone giving away clothes for 5 to 1 dollars???

bunny 123 on January 28, 2012:

my mom thougt that bunnies can't wear clothlos

faith on January 28, 2012:

i am getting a bunny

Tasha on October 14, 2011:

My bunnies like clothes, I don't really have a hard time putting them on because my bunnies laydown for me. It's cute =^-^=

Emily on November 17, 2010:

Is it cruel to put your bunny is clothe? Do they like it? I don't want people to think I am so cruel to my pet! Thx!:)

kasey on October 01, 2010:

yes you are right.

Selena Gomez on August 18, 2010:

I have a bunny Leo, he is a boy and soooo cute ! :)

makaila on August 15, 2010:

i have a boy bunny his name is hoppy im makaila im 9

viyonce on July 05, 2010:

pink clothes for my bunny

Chantal on June 25, 2010:

Cool! I know where to find bunny clothes. But you need to buy them in X-Small or XX-small.

http://www.glamourdog.com/

Maddy on May 13, 2010:

Thank you so much I'm getting a bunny and I want to put her in a little shirt but I don't want the bunny to hate it or have people telling me it animal cruelty

ILOVEMYBUNNY on April 05, 2010:

I am trying to find out how to make my bunny a sweater but can't find out how any good websites?I'm going to paint her nails and put a bow on each ear but I think she needs clothes too!!! If you know of a good website with knit or crochet patterns that would be great thanks!!!:)

B on March 27, 2010:

Where did you get the shirt? Any good websites for clothes?

dfdgdshdsrhg on January 22, 2010:

cute

petzibbies on July 22, 2009:

my bunnie licerish is an amican fuzzie lop and she loves to ware an outfit evry once in a wile

lilly on April 07, 2009:

that helped so much thx a lot !!!!!!!!! if you could say were i could find some bunny clothes that would help even more!

lilly on January 15, 2009:

thanxs that a lot of help