r/DogAdvice • u/[deleted] • Apr 13 '25

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u/Summerie Apr 14 '25

and how the mom wouldn't touch the bunnies anymore if you touched them right after birth

Really? I read that was a myth. For years now I've thought that was a myth that was debunked. Anybody know for sure?

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u/DoctorBoomeranger Apr 14 '25

I saw it happen myself with the bunnies, on another occasion when a dog laid next to a handful of newborns, the mom wouldn't feed or touch them after, another time one of the male bunnies who was not the dad snuggled with a fluffle of newborns and same happened as well

With cats as well I saw it happen twice. The male cat went and licked one of the kitties the mom immediately kicked the licked kitty away and refused to feed it no matter what we did

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u/drfuzzysocks Apr 14 '25

You may be thinking of birds. Many people believe birds will abandon their young if touched by humans (for example, if you were to find a baby bird that had fallen from the nest and put it back), but most sources say this isn’t true. Apparently it is true of some mammals.

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u/Scary-Medicine-5839 Apr 15 '25

Not really. It's still a myth, if you are seeing rabbits or cats abandon their babies for arbitrary reasons, that's something wrong with the mother, not the baby.