# How to catch a rabbit...?



## Paws&Claws (Aug 29, 2009)

Hello!
My boyfriend called me this morning to say theres a rabbit running around on his street. Its a culd-a-sack (sp) so its not a busy road but it is off a very busy A road. I decided to bob round with a carry cage to see if i could help.

Its definatly not a wild rabbit, as its a beautiful grey lop with white splodges. Beautiful thing! She/He is quite tame but not tame enough to grab hold of. 

We asked around and it doesnt seem to be anyones rabbit. Another (possibly wild rabbit) was run over near the A road and this little lop keeps wanting to sit with it. Obviously thats dangerous so we want to catch it and find the owner.

I took some chicken wire with me and my carry cage in the hope we could corner it. We managed to corner it twice but 1 time she got under the chicken wire and another time a neighbour thought they were helping by throwing a towel around and it scared her to jump through a gate.

A couple of neighbours find the rabbit 'a pest' however they dont like ppl in there garden, and this rabbit finds this persons garden the best place to be because of the plants. This neighbour also said that 'someone must be feeding it' .....................  I didnt comment that rabbits eat plants... 

Anyway! whats the best way to catch a rabbit? She ran off down a gap inbetween gardens but shes been around that area for about 3 weeks now so she knows it well and my boyfriend said shell be back. So we left abit of brocolli and i intend to go back when my boyfriend calls to say shes come out of the bushes. 

Any advise? If i catch it im going to look after her/him until we get her/him to the vet and then were going to try find the owners.... if no ones found... i might have to keep it...............  x


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## shutterspeed (Mar 23, 2010)

It's going to be tough! They are so incredibly fast!
One of my buns escaped once and I just couldn't catch it. We set up a trap with a laundry basket and rope and put some yummies in there. After a while, it went under, pull rope, basket falls, bun trapped.
But it's not simple. 
I've been seen running around with a blanket too, trying to throw that over bun.
I don't know about the cages people use to catch stray cats, you might ask the vet.
Succes!!


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## Kammie (Apr 4, 2009)

A long shot but I don't suppose you have a puppy pen? The metal folding runs that you can make any shape you want.

If you do have one or something similar set it up in one of the places bunny likes to go without joining the two ends so its a 3 sided box. Put some nice food in there for him and wait till he ventures in then close off the fouth end so he'll be in a smaller space to catch. You'll need to be fast to catch him once in the run to stop him jumping though.

Hard to describe but the idea is very much the same as with herding sheep into the fenced bit where they get closed in.

This is the kind of pen I mean but you may be able to use the idea to make something similar.
Great Deals on Pens & Fencing for Small Pets at Zooplus: Small Pet Pen Jenny, 6 sided


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## Paws&Claws (Aug 29, 2009)

Thanks guys...

We got some chicken wire and managed to corner it against a wall but a little old lady ran out with a towel and the rabbit managed to get under the wire.
Another time we managed to corner her against 2 walls and the chicken wire and the little old lady ran out again 

Well my boyfriend says they have a cat trap.. which is like a big metal cage with a trap door so ive told him to ask his neighbour if he can set it up in their garden or something over night. 

I just really dont want it to get hurt  it looks VERY healthy and doesnt have any obvious injuries which is good to know x


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## AmyCruick (Jul 20, 2009)

Oh no I really feel for you, I have enough trouble trying to catch my two to bring them in from the garden and so I know how difficult it is to catch them when they don't want to be caught!! They can be so quick and wriggly when they want to be! 

When one of mine escaped once I managed to chuck a laundry basket over her, do you have a big (but light) basket you could try this with? or maybe try throwing a sheet over her which covers a larger area?

Good luck! Let us know how you get on!


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## Paws&Claws (Aug 29, 2009)

AmyCruick said:


> Oh no I really feel for you, I have enough trouble trying to catch my two to bring them in from the garden and so I know how difficult it is to catch them when they don't want to be caught!! They can be so quick and wriggly when they want to be!
> 
> When one of mine escaped once I managed to chuck a laundry basket over her, do you have a big (but light) basket you could try this with? or maybe try throwing a sheet over her which covers a larger area?
> 
> Good luck! Let us know how you get on!


The old lady with the towel was thinking that. But this rabbits not daft so i duno if that will work. He/She lets u get close but not close enough to grab or anything. Im at home now and my bf is going to ring if he sees the rabbit around again today. Last time i saw he/she was up the side of a house inbetween gardens that was too small for me to go after her. It was safe for her to be there though and we didnt want to chase her into someone elses garden so i left some brocolli and were going to see if she comes back out soon.

Shes a beautiful rabbit, im hoping a get a call saying they caught her. My main fear is that s/hell will get hit by a car 

x


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## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

report the rabbit to the RSPCA or you nearest rescue, they will help you catch it.


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## hazyreality (Jan 11, 2009)

I caught a stray in out field, she was very hungry by the looks of her, so I managed to throw a carrot just in front of her, then everytime she bent down to get it, and crunched, I stepped forward a bit. I then had a rope lead, well a lead that was looped, managed to get that over her head as she was eating, and just pulled it tight enough to stop her running, then put a towel over her and loosened the lead.
Another we found we got under a car and had someone at each side, that was caught with a sheet over it.

*Heidi*


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## Paws&Claws (Aug 29, 2009)

emzybabe said:


> report the rabbit to the RSPCA or you nearest rescue, they will help you catch it.


We are going to try again in the morning if he/she is around so we will see how it goes and get on the phone if we see her/him again 



hazyreality said:


> I caught a stray in out field, she was very hungry by the looks of her, so I managed to throw a carrot just in front of her, then everytime she bent down to get it, and crunched, I stepped forward a bit. I then had a rope lead, well a lead that was looped, managed to get that over her head as she was eating, and just pulled it tight enough to stop her running, then put a towel over her and loosened the lead.
> Another we found we got under a car and had someone at each side, that was caught with a sheet over it.
> 
> *Heidi*


Thanks 
Ill take a blanket with me and see how we go. We would have caught him/her twice if it wasnt for the little old lady :lol: x


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## Zippstar (Sep 25, 2008)

I hope you catch the wayward bunny! When Rags escaped last year (3 times, the little madam) we caught her by tempting with treats and then making a quick grab....of course, it probably wasn't the gentlest way of getting her but much better than her being run over !


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## Paws&Claws (Aug 29, 2009)

Zippstar said:


> I hope you catch the wayward bunny! When Rags escaped last year (3 times, the little madam) we caught her by tempting with treats and then making a quick grab....of course, it probably wasn't the gentlest way of getting her but much better than her being run over !


Thats what i was thinking... id rather scare her/him a little rather then him/her get run over. Ill be round at my bfs tomorrow morning quite early so im hoping she/hell be around so we can try catch her again.

If i phone the RSPCA will they come and take him/her away? Id hate for them to catch him/her and then s/he be in a rescue? Id rather him/her come live with me until we find the owners? or... until i get her a hutch.... :lol: Maybe its karma bringing me a boy rabbit for my bebe to have a boyfriend... they are both lops and would be beautiful together.....  hmmm hehe x


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## Zippstar (Sep 25, 2008)

Paws&Claws said:


> Thats what i was thinking... id rather scare her/him a little rather then him/her get run over. Ill be round at my bfs tomorrow morning quite early so im hoping she/hell be around so we can try catch her again.
> 
> If i phone the RSPCA will they come and take him/her away? Id hate for them to catch him/her and then s/he be in a rescue? Id rather him/her come live with me until we find the owners? or... until i get her a hutch.... :lol: Maybe its karma bringing me a boy rabbit for my bebe to have a boyfriend... they are both lops and would be beautiful together.....  hmmm hehe x


I really don't know re the RSPCA i've never dealt with them. I would imagine so though :/! They are very funny about who can have animals once they involved, or so I hear.

Let us know how you get on!


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## Paws&Claws (Aug 29, 2009)

Zippstar said:


> I really don't know re the RSPCA i've never dealt with them. I would imagine so though :/! They are very funny about who can have animals once they involved, or so I hear.
> 
> Let us know how you get on!


I just dont want him/her to be in a rescue. She/He isnt a baby rabbit and unfortunatly they seem to be the most wanted. So i dont want them to be sat in a rescue for months, esp when i have the room, time, money for them  esp if he/she is a he and no owner comes forward and bonds well with bebe!!!

Ill keep you all up to date, but if i think the bunnys health is at risk i will call the RSPCA  We live in a rural area but its unfortunate that its near one of the only busy roads around here.

Ooooo!!! just to mention the rabbit that was hit by a car and this rabbit keeps sitting with, is the same sort of colour apparently...? I think they were at least friends  but i think it was smaller so my bf thinks it maybe its baby  :crying: but obviously we cant be sure until the rabbit running around is caught and checked over x


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## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

I would get the RSPCA in asap, the rabbits life is at risk. If you want to keep it then u can either tell them shes yours or let them look her over keep her in for period of time so no one claims her and then adopt her officially.


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## frags (Feb 5, 2009)

The RSPCA will let you keep it i would imagine, they dont really want to take them in and fill up there rescues so normally ask the person who calls if they want to take it on.


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## Zippstar (Sep 25, 2008)

frags said:


> The RSPCA will let you keep it i would imagine, they dont really want to take them in and fill up there rescues so normally ask the person who calls if they want to take it on.


Hopefully 

Have you called them?


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## Paws&Claws (Aug 29, 2009)

emzybabe said:


> I would get the RSPCA in asap, the rabbits life is at risk. If you want to keep it then u can either tell them shes yours or let them look her over keep her in for period of time so no one claims her and then adopt her officially.





frags said:


> The RSPCA will let you keep it i would imagine, they dont really want to take them in and fill up there rescues so normally ask the person who calls if they want to take it on.





Zippstar said:


> Hopefully
> 
> Have you called them?


Thanks everyone! 
I just didnt like the thought of her/him being in a rescue. Theres been no sign of her/him today as she/he seems to come in the morning. I will tell my boyfriend to keep an eye out if he sees her/him again. If he does then well ring the rspca asap and keep an eye on her to make sure she doesnt run off 

She really seems to like the neighbours garden so were hoping he/she will be back soon. My bf has a cat trap so they are going to set that up down where we last saw her/him and hopefully she/he will be caught ok  x


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## Paws&Claws (Aug 29, 2009)

Just an update;

No news since the other day so we are hoping shes set up home in the neighbours garden and she might come out when/if they set up the cat trap tonight. Fingers crossed shes still a happy little bunny  x


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## Zippstar (Sep 25, 2008)

Paws&Claws said:


> Just an update;
> 
> No news since the other day so we are hoping shes set up home in the neighbours garden and she might come out when/if they set up the cat trap tonight. Fingers crossed shes still a happy little bunny  x


I'm sure she's OK - let us know if you see her again/catch her!


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## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

aw let us know how it goes, would hate for someone else to keep her who has no experience and her escape again. 

The RSPCA are very very slow, it took them a good week to collect some manky cats near me once. I would let them know and when the local officer is free they can keep trying, they normally call u direct when there looking in to your case


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## Tink82 (Mar 22, 2009)

have you tried a towel/blanket over her eyes if you can get close enough? it works on some bunnies but not others.. they just freeze


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## Paws&Claws (Aug 29, 2009)

Tink82 said:


> have you tried a towel/blanket over her eyes if you can get close enough? it works on some bunnies but not others.. they just freeze


I think thats what the old lady with the towel was thinking but we needed to corner it close enough to do that.. and unfortuatly she scared it off when said got close flying a towel around.

So were going to try it when/if we see him/her again x


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Has anyone seen her since the last time you saw her?


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## Paws&Claws (Aug 29, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


> Has anyone seen her since the last time you saw her?


I dont think so. Its round my boyfriends house about 3 miles away from me and theyre all really posh round that area (or like to think they are) and they dont seem to care about the rabbit and they just find it a pest  So i dont think anyones bothered mentioning it or looking for it.

My bf and family havent seen it since but it seems to hang around a little further down the road from them so its not in their garden or they would try catch it 

If they see it again then were going to try catch it again x


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## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

could also try one of these Welded Wire Mesh, Gabion baskets, PVC coated gabions, Mesh Fencing, welded mesh rolls, weld mesh panels, stainless steel, galvanised or the rspca may have some they could lend u most rabbit food has a certain smell that they just cant resist no matter how much grass they have, i'm sure with plenty of hay in these devices wouldnt look so mean


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## Paws&Claws (Aug 29, 2009)

emzybabe said:


> could also try one of these Welded Wire Mesh, Gabion baskets, PVC coated gabions, Mesh Fencing, welded mesh rolls, weld mesh panels, stainless steel, galvanised or the rspca may have some they could lend u most rabbit food has a certain smell that they just cant resist no matter how much grass they have, i'm sure with plenty of hay in these devices wouldnt look so mean


Thanks 
I think my bf has one of them or something similar. Ill force him to set it up tomorrow evening and ill put some of the rabbit food i have in :thumbup: well see how it goes... hopefully we wont catch a badger or something :lol: x


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