She's wrong, I'm as calm as a cucumber!

Tigger will be turning seven years old this coming February and I am amazed. She is and always has been a Freakazoid. Something will set her off and she will take off running at top speed. Her motto seems to be, "Run first, look later". What sets her off? Sometimes it seems like everything: the phone ringing, a knock on the door, we walk back into the room. I have expected for years she would break a leg in her mad dashes or run into something full speed and break her neck.

We had Tigger for two months before we brought Shadow home and so she ran solo Freakazoid runs. After we brought Shadow home it became duo Freakazoid runs. Tigger starts running and Shadow thinks there must be a good reason, so he starts running full out too. We end up running trying to head them off, slow them down, and calm them before they harm themselves.

At the same time rabbits can be so fragile medically with common eating problems and GI stasis, I am amazed how resilient they can be in other ways. Tigger has run into the X-pen face first and just fazed herself. At one point we had a long cage for them that had a door at each end. On one of their duo Freakazoid runs they ran into the cage from opposite ends and collided in the center. Again, they were just fazed for a few seconds. I am so glad they haven't ever really hurt themselves.

We found out recently there may be a reason that Tigger is so easily freaked. As she is aging, it has become more and more apparent to the vet that she has a problem with one eye. Now we suspect that she may have always had a vision problem with that eye. We notice that if we talk to the rabbits to announce that we are coming back into a room, Tigger usually won't freak. We can't stop the phone from ringing or people knocking on the door, but over the years we have always used the same phrases with her, "Its all right Tigger. You are OK Tigger." We start to say these things right away and many times now she will run behind something and stop and wait for us to come give her calming pets.

If you have a Freakazoid like Tigger, maybe your rabbit has a vision problem, and runs to be on the safe side since their sight isn't as clear as other rabbits. You may be able to use your voice and repeated recognized phrases like we do with Tigger to calm your rabbit down and keep the Freakazoid in check. Also, we have noticed now that she is much more comfortable with us if we are on the side of her good eye. If your rabbit moves or turns the same way each time you sit or lay down beside them, they may have a vision problem like Tigger and just want to be able to see you better.

~ Rebecca Pullin