A Treasury – Falling For Rabbits

Etsy Treasury Falling for Rabbits

Click image above to go to treasury to view items

Here is my second of six planned treasuries this week. I am going to be a one person bunny blitz for visually getting the word out to the members of the Etsy Rabbits team and Etsy about International Rabbit Day being September 24th.  The six treasuries I have created for this week will showcase one item each from 96 of the 97 active shops of Etsy Rabbits team members.  The only shop I won’t be putting into a treasury is Rabbittude, since treasury promotion isn’t intended to showcase yourself. 

I hope to spur bunny rabbits to really start hopping in to Etsy treasuries in force this month!

A Treasury of International Rabbits

International Rabbits for International Rabbit Day

Click on image to go to Etsy treasury

Commence bunny hopping! This will be the first of six treasuries to highlight both International Rabbit Day and the active Etsy Rabbits Team shops. This treasury is items from international team members. The team currently has members from 14 countries and about 100 active shops.

Team Space on Etsy:  www.etsy.com/teams/7580/etsy-rabbits
Team Blog:  http://etsyrabbits.blogspot.com

I Wish I Had A Picture …

Tigger back side

We couldn't get a picture of THAT face, but expect to be seeing this view a LOT

So Friday, Shadow started showing a move from allergies into Snuffles issues.  Tigger is currently symptom free.  However, when Shadow saw the vet yesterday, it was discussed whether Tigger should be treated too.  In the past if one got sick with something like this, even if the other started out symptom free, they would pass it back and forth until both had been put on antibiotics to clear them both up.  So Shadow and Tigger are both being treated from the start this time.

I am guessing that the medication prescribed has a really nasty taste or that the flavoring I smell is not anywhere on their tasty list.  That is because in more than ten years with Tigger, I have never seen quite the face or way she looked at me after we gave it to her.  It was the most disgusted peeved aggrieved look.  She didn’t even get all of it either, she was drooling a bit out as we tried to syringe it in.  When I put her down, she hopped around the room and thumped at least five times.  And we have twice a day, times two bunnies, for two weeks to look forward to.  Sigh …

There will be a pretty Etsy treasury coming later this afternoon.

Slight Delay …

🙁 As happens with humans, the fluid congestion from Shadow’s allergies has led to a slight infection.  We have been giving him Benadryl (in vet determined dose) to try to cut down the sneezing and congestion.  There must have still been a bit too much sitting around in his sinuses and he started to have some thick nasal mucus last evening.  So he got a trip to the vet first thing this morning.

Stay tuned! Tomorrow I will have the promised Etsy treasury full of items from some of our international Etsy Rabbits to lead off a total of six treasuries I will do showcasing one item each from the active Etsy Rabbits shops.  A few shops are currently on vacation or hiatus, but there are currently almost 100 shops from over a dozen different countries. 

There are so many wonderful items available from the Etsy Rabbits with a variety of  styles in art, crafts, jewelry, accessories, clothing, home decor and more …

Reminder – 3 Weeks Until International Rabbit Day

3 bunniesJust a reminder that International Rabbit Day is 3 weeks away now.  It is set for the Fourth Saturday in September which would be the 24th. 

Click here to go to Holiday Insights for more information on the meaning and origin International Rabbit Day.

Special Note for tomorrow!  The Etsy Rabbits team will be doing some treasuries this month to let more people know about International Rabbit Day and highlight some of the items and shops on Etsy run by Etsy Rabbit team members.  Tomorrow, I will post a treasury that will be all items from Etsy Rabbits team member shops.  Will I be posting one with a fall theme, items for rabbits / pets, a colorful treasury or something else?  Check back to see.

Hare Trigger

Tigger ready to run

Ready, set ...

And she is off in a total freakazoid run.  What set of the hare trigger, er Tigger?  We sure haven’t always figured it out right after more than 10 years.  It could be a noise, a movement, almost anything with Tigger.  Tigger has the shortest fuse from relaxed to full-blown panic of any animal we have ever seen.

We have learned that it is possible to have a bunny stampede with only two rabbits.  Something sets Tigger off and she is off at top speed.  Shadow then thinks something bad is going down and he better start running too.  So, off they both go.  Sometimes they are running top speed together side by side in such tandem you would expect to see a little harness or yoke on them.  Sometimes it is one following the other.  Sometimes they take off in completely different directions and yes they have run into each other head on once. 

Whatever direction they take off, it is the fastest flurry of movement to see with the pounding sound of racing rabbit paws.  Two of them can sound like a herd as the run and run and run.  We end up furiously talking trying to calm them down and try to follow them carefully.  We want to be able to see where they are to make sure they aren’t smashing into things or each other without following them in a way that makes them feel followed which accelerates the stampede rather than slowing it down.  We have to come at them from the side or angles, not directly from behind or the front.

After a few minutes, the frantic racing stops.  Sometimes it is like throwing a switch back to calm.  It is hard to say sometimes what starts it and also to know sometimes what makes them suddenly realize they are safe again.

Tigger never does anything halfway.  One time something set her off while she was in the makeshift tunnel we have of a sheet draped over several open-ended boxes.  It lasted less than a minute and ended before we could even reach her.  The hare trigger went off and she started to run.  Tigger got herself wrapped up in the sheet, managed to free her feet enough to run herself and the sheet into a hay bowl.  That rolled everything over so that hay and bowl went flying up and then down.  Tigger crawled out from underneath the sheet covered with hay, blinking and teary eyed.  We called the vet and watched that the eyes cleared up by the next morning.  She had just gotten some dust in her eyes.  We think that happened with the roll through the hay bowl which would leave the actual cause of the freak out a mystery. 

There have been many times along her ten years that we wondered if the hare trigger would allow her to make it to senior bunny status.  Tigger is living proof that panic attacks alone don’t kill.  However, lots of padding and soft corners in rooms do help to keep rabbits with little hare triggers safer.  We have also noticed that Tigger stays calmer if we are talking to her as we come in to a room or approach her.

Perhaps in Tigger’s case, the hare trigger could be related to poor eyesight.  Since she has always stayed calmer if she hears our voices, maybe she has had visual problems a good part of her life.  We know she does now as a senior bun, some eye issues can now be seen by the vet, but maybe they have been there for quite some time before they could be seen.  

So if you too have a rabbit with a hare trigger, see if lots of talking to your rabbit as you move around lessens the problem. 

Head Pet Radar

Awaiting head pets

Waiting ...

Shadow bunny has the finest tuned rabbit radar when it comes to head pets.  It’s a given that if you start to pet Tigger, no matter where he might be in the house, Shadow will show up in less than a minute.

He is so down with the idea of being petted, he is literally down and in position and waiting with that me too look in his eyes.  Who can resist?  Unlike Tigger once Shadow is down for the head petting, he is down and you had better be prepared for a session.
 
That is okay, petting a rabbit is just so wonderful.  The fur has such a wonderful feel, the tooth purring is such a nice thankful feedback.  It is a good time to just mellow out and enjoy each others company.  We usually lay down on the floor beside him and just chill with the bunny.
 
Mr. Shadow loves to be stroked up his nose, around his cheeks.  There is a spot in front of his ears that you can tell is an ahhh spot.  If you stray off his head back towards his shoulders, you will get a little head bumping up into your hand as a reminder to focus.  This is a head petting session!
 
Shadow is up for having his little head petted multiple times a day.  So we can repeat the process whenever we want the stress of the day to flow away.  Who says the head pets benefit only the bunny!

Commence Thumping …

Tigger is a very pawsitive bunny.  She punctuates with her paws.  She arrives in a room, thump.  She arrives on a floor of the house, thump.  She is about to hop underneath the dust ruffle on the guest bed, thump.  She isn’t happy to be picked up. So, when you put her down, thump.  You scared her with that noise / movement / whatever … thump.

The pathway of her life echoes with all the little thumps along the way.  You can tell where Tigger is on and off throughout the day as she announces herself on her journeys around the house with thumps.

Tigger is a very bossy bunny.  I had always read that bunnies use thumps as danger signals to other bunnies.  That has always made me wonder if her little thumps really are a danger signal to the other bunnies in the house, Shadow and for a while Portia.  Is it her way of playing tough bunny and saying, “You better stay out of my way!”  Or is it the way of HRH Princess bunny to announce herself as she enters, “You better pay attention HRH Tigger is in the room!” or “How dare you pick up HRH Tigger.”

There was one really bad thumping occasion.  We have a lot of storms here that cause power surges and everything electrical surges off and then on again.  One of those times, the security system for the house was set off by the surge which then fried the electronics in the on position.  There was an awesome thunderstorm with lightning going on outside, the security alarm was going off inside and Tigger took off under the guest bed and was thumping off the bunny alarm.  For a full half hour the storm raged, the alarm blared and Tigger thumped while I was trying over the phone to hear enough of what the security company was saying to be able to find out how to shut the system down until it could be fixed.

This evening, all is quiet.  The bunnies have been running around all day and are now settled in and bedded down for the night.  So will it be a quiet night?  It depends.  If something in her cage isn’t to her liking, Tigger has another way of thumping at night for emphasis.  She picks up a corner of her litter box with her teeth and drops it, repeatedly.

So at night if she isn’t happy, her thumps become whumps.  You can hear them up a flight of stairs through closed doors.   So just for you Tigger baby, how about a variation of the Hokey-Pokey called the Thumpy-Bunny …

You put your right paw in,  
You put your right paw out;
You put your right paw in,
And you thump it all about.
You do the Thumpy-Bunny,
And you hop yourself around.
That’s what it’s all about!

Continue on for more verses switching out right paw with left paw, right side, left side, backside, and whole self. 

Good night sweet thumpy bunny, a quiet night pretty please …

Reminder – 4 Weeks Until International Rabbit Day

3 bunniesJust a reminder that International Rabbit Day is a month away.  It is set for the Fourth Saturday in September which would be the 24th this year. 

Here is one suggestion for the day:  “Celebrate this special day with your pet rabbit. Learn a little more about him and how to properly care for his needs. If you don’t have a pet, maybe today is the day to get a pet rabbit! ” 

Click here to go to Holiday Insights for more information on the meaning and origin International Rabbit Day.

Follow the Weather and Stay Safe …

hurricane symbolMuch of the Eastern coast of the US and Canada are bracing for hurricane Irene to make landfall.  I hope that those in the path are heading the warnings to leave or be prepared to be cut off.  It is recommended to be provisioned for 5-7 days with food and water for all in your household which includes any pets. 

The size of this storm is enormous.  One forecaster likened it to the size of Europe.  Even if the winds die down a bit, a storm of this size will be carrying a lot of water.  I am no veteran of hurricanes, but do know from watching reports of many that have hit the southern states that the water can often be the most damaging part of the storm.

If you have never been without power for an extended period of time, it can be worse than you can imagine.  My mother lost power for a week in the blackout of 2003 where power was lost starting in Ohio and cascading throughout the east and up to Canada.  In addition to no power, she also had no fresh water or sewer services.  The power outage took out the sewage and water treatment plant in her area too.

Losing power also means losing communications.  That could be the most frightening and dangerous thing of all.  If you are marooned with no TV, internet, telephone, cell phone service or radios, you won’t know what is happening and where.  Being cut off and not knowing what to do could be deadly.

So please take care, take heed, leave now if you are in an evacuation zone.