How to Adopt a Lionhead Rabbit in the United States

Where can you adopt a Lionhead rabbit in the US?

• Rabbit-only rescues and House Rabbit Society chapters: foster-based groups that know each rabbit's habits and usually spay or neuter before adoption. Ask whether they can let you know when a Lionhead comes in.
• City and county shelters: many take in rabbits; check their adoptable-pets pages often.
• Owners listing for adoption: families placing a Lionhead with an application and fee. You can browse Lionhead rabbits for adoption and save the search to get alerts for new listings.

Rescues often describe breed loosely. A rabbit listed as a Lionhead mix may have a full double mane, a thin single mane or wool only around the head, so read the profile and ask. A purebred adult weighs no more than 3.75 pounds under the American Rabbit Breeders Association standard.

Why do Lionhead rabbits end up in rescue?

Rabbits are often bought on impulse. National Geographic reported in 2017 that the Georgia House Rabbit Society usually gets one or two calls a week about abandoned rabbits, but three to four a day in the six weeks after Easter. It also reported that shelters in Idaho and Chicago see a rise in summer, when those bunnies reach puberty and owners give up over behavior that spaying or neutering can help.

Lionheads add one more reason: the coat. PetMD recommends brushing two or three times a week and daily during the spring and fall molts, and owners who did not expect that can fall behind. Ask whether the rabbit has been clipped; a clipped Lionhead looks very different until its wool grows back, but the rabbit underneath is the same.

What is the Lionhead rabbit adoption process?

1. Find a rabbit. Read the profile, and ask about mane type, grooming habits, health and how it takes handling.
2. Apply. Expect questions about your home, schedule, children, other pets and vet.
3. Meet. Many rescues invite you to meet the rabbit, and some host bonding dates if you already have a spayed or neutered rabbit.
4. Home check or class. Some groups ask for photos of your setup or visit; the House Rabbit Society's adoption center uses an online Rabbit Care 101 class.
5. Sign and pay. Sign the adoption contract, pay the fee and collect the records.

The House Rabbit Society requires an adult to be the primary caregiver for its own adoptions and typically recommends rabbits for older children. With small children, it says, the bigger the rabbit, the better, which matters for a breed this small.

What does a Lionhead rabbit adoption fee cover?

Once surgery is counted, a rescue Lionhead is usually the cheaper route. If you want a young kit from a breeder instead, read how to buy a Lionhead rabbit.

How do you prepare for an adopted Lionhead's coat?

• Tools: a wide-toothed comb, a slicker brush and a mat splitter. Veterinarian Carolynn Harvey warns that rabbit skin is delicate and highly susceptible to cuts, so mats should not be cut off with scissors.
• Routine: PetMD advises brushing two or three times a week, daily during molts, and nail trims every month.
• Problem spots: mats form fastest where fur rubs, such as under the chin and chest, at the nape and on the feet and legs.
• No baths: Dr. Harvey says even an occasional bath is quite stressful for the average rabbit and is not recommended. Spot-clean instead, and dry the fur well.
• Hay first: Dr. James Carpenter, a zoological medicine specialist, names a low-fiber diet as the major factor in hair building up in a rabbit's stomach, and says brushing may help prevent it but will not eliminate it.
• Cool, dry rooms: PetMD advises keeping Lionheads between 50 and 77°F.

How do you help an adopted Lionhead settle in?

• Set up an indoor pen or rabbit-proofed room before it arrives, with a hide box, litter box, hay rack and water.
• Keep the rescue's hay, pellets and litter for the first two weeks, then change slowly.
• Sit on the floor and let it come to you. Brush in short sessions with a treat afterward, so grooming becomes routine rather than a struggle.
• Check every day that it eats and passes droppings. PetMD calls GI stasis, when a rabbit stops eating and passing stool, potentially life-threatening, so call a vet the same day.
• Book a rabbit-savvy vet in the first weeks for a check of teeth, skin and nose.
• If you have another rabbit, keep them apart until the vet check, then bond them slowly on neutral ground, ideally with the rescue's help.

Owners placing a rabbit can read how to list a Lionhead rabbit for adoption. If you find a Lionhead offered by its owner rather than a rescue, taking in a rehomed Lionhead rabbit covers the history questions to ask.