Sofas and Soft furnishings

How to make your sofa or armchair safe for your house rabbit and avoid damage from your pet bunny rabbit chewing and scratching

Your sofa or armchair is a big feature in your rabbit’s world and It’s natural for them to want to climb on top to explore or jump up be king of the hill. Bunnies also like to use the crawl spaces that form around this type of furniture as natural pathways and hideaways around the room. The material coverings and soft wood of a sofa or armchair can be very tempting for a house rabbit who would naturally chew on materials like these to sharpen its teeth or as a source for digestive fibre.

House rabbits like to compete with your for their place on the sofa or arm chair as much as any domestic pet but where caring from a house rabbit differs from cats and dogs is in the types of damage they can cause. Chewing, scratching and the odd accident can all cause ware and tare leaving your sofa looking tatty over time and there are also a number of safety issues you need to take into account to ensure you can relay and share the sofa.

There are a number of safety issues surrounding your sofa or armchair that needs to be considered to be sure your house rabbit does not come to harm. Things placed on the sofa like loose cushions can be dangerous if your bunny likes to jump on and off and the crawl spaces between a sofa and a wall can crush an unsuspecting bunny. The space under your sofa can have sharp unfinished surfaces and a rabbit inside a sofa can be very hard to retrieve.

It’s very hard to block off access to your sofa or armchair and still have easy access to it yourself. You can however take a number of smaller bunny proofing measures to ensure your rabbit can play safely around your sofa and prevent much of the damage caused by unwanted chewing and scratching.

Safety

How to making your sofa or armchair safe for your rabbit to jump and play on.

House rabbits love to jump up on the sofa or armchair the moment your back is turned so you always have to make sure it’s safe and unwanted damage is avoided. Never leaving anything out that could harm your house rabbit and remember to keep surfaces clear from personal items that could be chewed or damaged.

Remove dangerous objects

Rabbits like to jump up on the sofa or armchair and will often leap without being able to see where they will land.
This can easily cause harm to your rabbit if you have carelessly left sharp or dangerous objects on the surface of your sofa and it only take you back to be turned for a second for a accident to happen.
Never put hot food and drink down on your sofa and always make sure that you place sharp objects that you may be using like scissors down somewhere out of reach.

Keep personal items safe

A curious rabbit will want to examine the things you leave unguarded on your sofa or armchair which can lead to some nasty damage.
They may want to see what you have been using by chewing on it, tossing it off the sofa or trying to shred it with its paws.
Never leave TV remotes controls, iPods and ear phone, books magazines and Bags out on the sofa or they could be chewed and damaged.

Provide a safe landing

Your sofa or arm chare is a tempting place for your rabbit and they may regularly jumping on and off to get attention from you or as a good spot to look around the room.
If your sofa or armchair is over a hard or slippery surface this can be difficult for your rabbit and a miss judged jump or slip could lead to a nasty fall.
Place a rug or mat under furniture that your house rabbit likes to jump up and down from to make the surfaces secure, add some cushioning and act as a crash mat in a slip or fall.

Loose cushions are dangerous

Although the loose cushions on your sofa can provide support and comfort to you they can be problematic to a rabbit that is used to more solid surfaces to climb on.
A rabbit can easily lose their footing jumping on and off a sofa covered in cushions and fall or slip climbing on them to explore and take advantage of a high point in the room.
Remove excess cushions and move the rest to the back of the seat so your house rabbit can jump on safely, avoid stacking too may cushions up as they can topple and fall if climbed on.

Crawl spaces

The tempting crawl spaces behind and underneath your sofa or armchair are extremely dangerous for your rabbit and need to be blocked off to prevent access to them. Ensure your sofa or armchair cannot slide around and any spaces around the back or sides are blocked off with another pieces of furniture, always fill in the gap underneath.

Crushed behind the sofa

Rabbits often like to sit in the gap between the wall and the back of the sofa or armchair as it’s provides a safe place to sit and has lots of escape routes.
Unfortunately you sofa may not be as solid as you rabbit imagines and if it moves suddenly when someone sits down it can be pushing it back trapping or crushing your rabbit.
Always make sure furniture that can move is pushed up against a wall or cannot move back to prevent your rabbit from being crushed in the gap which can lead to a serious accident.

Stuck behind the sofa

The crawl space behind your sofa or armchair is the perfect size for a rabbit to use on its routes around your home but this space can be dangerous to an unsuspecting bunny.
An unlucky rabbit can become stuck in these awkward man made spaces or if startled can hurt itself struggling to escape.
Block your house rabbit’s access to the unsafe crawl space behind your furniture by covering up the gap by pushing a piece of furniture or other suitable ornament up against it.

Under the sofa

Rabbits are always on the lookout for good places to hide in case they need to duck for cover and the under the sofa if perfect for this so it can be a place they like to go.
Unfortunately the flimsy underside covering of a sofa offers little protection and if your rabbit crawls in and become trapped this can be incredibly dangerous and hard to free them from.
Block out the unsafe space under your furniture by filling in the gap with some storage boxes or use wooden blocks made into a frame for rigidity to block access to your rabbit.

Sofa design choice

Choosing a sofa or armchair with rabbits mind can help avoid many of the safety issues involved and also be more resistant to chewing and scratching damage. Avoid rocking chairs or chairs with reclining mechanisms as these can trap and hurt your rabbit, modern sofas and armchairs with metal frames are the most suitable.

Wooden frames

Rabbits can get inside sofas and armchairs made from material over a wooden frame Unfortunately the most common and cheapest sort of sofa typically made from material stretched over a wooden frame can be the most dangerous and hardest to Bunnyproof.
The tightly stretched material can be easily damaged and there’s always the possibility that your rabbit will get inside and hurt itself on the sharp unfinished surfaces.
If you have the material and frame type you need to take extra care to bunny proof to keep the damage to a minimum and make sure it safe for your rabbit to play around.

Moving parts are dangerous

Its way to easy to be relaxing at home on an adjustable sofa and forget your rabbit is roaming freely and may be dangerously close to the mechanisms.
Sofas or armchairs with moving parts such as reclining mechanisms are unsuitable if you have a house rabbit that could be trap in the moving parts and badly hurt.
Never use the reclining mechanism or lazy boy chair near your house rabbit and keep it stored folded up so your rabbit cannot get inside. It is best to change it for a safer one.

Rocking chairs

No matter how conscientious you think you will be rocking chairs or chairs that swinging can be very dangerous to rabbits.
It only takes a moment for your rabbit to be crushed underneath as your rock back or caught up in the mechanism as you swing.
Place rocking or swinging chairs somewhere inaccessible to your rabbit to ensure totally safety and never use them if your rabbit is nearby playing or they could get badly hurt.

Resistant materials

Rabbits love to chew soft materials such as cloth and wood to help ware down their teeth or to provide dietary fibre.
Sofas and armchairs designed with exposed metal feet and frames are the best choice offering the most resistance to wear and tear from your rabbit’s typical behaviour.
Modern looking furniture designs that uses minimal materials offer the best qualities for rabbit safety and prevention of damage from chewing and can be affordable to buy.

Providing distractions

If your sofa or armchair is in an area where you rabbit has access then you need to provide some alternates for it to chew on, scratch, dig, and shred to prevent damage. Always keep a fresh supply of chewing, digging and shredding toys that you can place next to your sofa or armchair to act as a distraction for your rabbit play with.

Coverers offer protection

Over time the materials on your sofa or armchair can start to look tatty due to the extra ware ant tare caused by your house rabbit.
The corners of materials can be nibbled and the surfaces can the soiled by the odd accident or digging activities.
You can provide some additional resistance to your house rabbit staining and damage the cushions by throwing a cover over it to protect it which can be washed or replaced.

Chewing problems

In the wild a rabbit has a wide range of natural materials that can be chewed to provide dietary fibre or to wear down their teeth.
If in your home you don’t provide alternatives to these things your rabbit will seek them out from the materials around it which can make you sofa a focus of attention.
Offer some alternative for your rabbit to chew on to distract it from chewing wood and cloth furniture such as cardboard boxes or tubes, wooden chew toys and a good supply of hay.

Digging problems

In the same way that you like to curl up on the sofa your rabbit may also decide that it’s a great place to make a nest.
Unfortunately this may involve trying to scratch and shred the soft materials your sofa is made of and they are adept diggers combining tenacity with surprising strength and sharp claws.
You can distract your rabbit from damaging your furniture by providing an alternative digging and shredding toy such as an old phonebook in a cardboard box it can tear up.

Acceptable alternatives

Rabbits are always looking to extend their environment and discover new things they can eat or that provide them with protection.
Toys can provide an exciting distraction to your rabbit and help prevent some of the damaging to your sofa or armchair they can do but as the novelty wears off so will their effectiveness.
Make sure you change your rabbit’s toys regularly or rotate them to keep them fresh so it doesn’t lose interest in them and go back to damaging you possessions instead.