International Rabbit Day 2014 Is Coming!

International Rabbit Day 2014

I first learned about International Rabbit Day a few years ago.  Someone sent me a link to the website Holiday Insights with information about how the day started and the intent to promote the well-being of rabbits.  It is usually set for the Fourth Saturday or Sunday in September. Holiday Insights has the date listed for Saturday this year which would be the 27th.

I see that House Rabbit Society is planning on Sunday the 28th for observing International Rabbit Day. I say why not make it an International Rabbit Weekend and focus some attention on our big eared friends for both days.

Here is one suggestion for observing the day/s:  “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! ”  Visit the Holiday Insights page for more information on the meaning and origin of International Rabbit Day.

 

Portia Meets Shadow & Tigger

Portia is homeWe brought Portia home on a trial basis to meet Tigger and Shadow to see if three bunnies would get along better than two. The plan was to keep Tigger and Shadow on the living room floor while putting Portia on the kitchen / dining room floor and allowing her a brief time to settle in. Then we were going to arrange some introductions in a neutral area and see if the rabbits might like each other.

We should have realized that as with everything else with Tigger and Shadow, things would not go as planned. They decided to introduce themselves. Shadow managed to squeeze around the gate we had blocking the stairway from the living room to the kitchen and ran down the stairs with Blaine in hot pursuit. Unfortunately for Shadow, he was both very speedy and very friendly.  He raced right up to the x-pen enclosure we had Portia in and stood there with his face right up to the space in the bars. Knowing Shadow, I am sure he was thinking and saying in rabbit speak, “Hi, I’m Shadow. Who are you?” Portia’s response was to race at him full speed and nip his nose through the x-pen bars.

Blaine caught up with Shadow as he yelped and then dived under the dining room table to hide. That is the point I arrived on the scene to find two very agitated males, one hiding under the table and the other yelling, “She bit my boy! She is out of here!” I went under the table after Shadow and scooped him up to get a good look at the injury. He had a small paper cut like slice on his nose that had a couple tiny beads of blood. Next, we called the vet and found out how to clean it and what to watch out for while it was healing.

Then while Blaine comforted Shadow, I made a call to Portia’s foster family to see about making arrangements to take her back to them. They were heading out-of-town on a week-long vacation and asked if we would keep her for that time.  So I made arrangements to be in touch once they were back.  It was our intention to keep the rabbits separated from each other during that time.

However during that week, Tigger was determined to meet this intruder for herself.  Who knows what Shadow might have conveyed in rabbit speak after his meeting.  She wiggled around the barrier and flew down the stairs, this time with me in hot pursuit. However, Tigger was a very different bunny from Shadow. She was always on guard. So when she saw Portia in her x-pen, Tigger kept her distance.  Instead, she was slinking around the perimeter acting very much like a small tiger on the prowl gauging the enemy.  Before either rabbit could decide to make a move, I caught up to Tigger and chased her under the dining room table. Then I caught her and took her back upstairs.

After that for the remaining time we expected to have Portia, we reinforced our barriers to a double gate system.  We had one gate at the top of the stairs and another at the bottom of the stairs so that if Tigger or Shadow got around one, we could still catch them before they could try to get around the other.  Fortunately for us, Portia had absolutely no interest in trying to escape her area.

So, it looked like everything was set and determined. After the foster family returned from vacation in a week, Portia would be going back and looking again for another furever home. During that week of reprieve, Portia took her fate into her own little paws and started to really reach out to Blaine. Dare I call it sucking up big time? In one week she bonded herself to him in every way she could. In doing so she melted his heart, he forgave her biting Shadow and Portia found herself a permanent home. When the foster family came back to town, I called to tell them that we were making the arrangements to adopt Portia.

It was clear though in just the brief rabbit to rabbit interactions though that we were not looking at any likely three-way bonding anytime in the future.  As we came to know Portia a bit more, it became clear she had trust issues and had probably been treated badly by either humans or other animals. If you approached from her rear unawares, she would whip around and rear up, batting her front paws and trying to bite.  Because of this, we recognized that the decision to keep her meant we would need to keep the rabbits completely separate.

By falling in love with all three rabbits and wanting to give each of them the best home we could, we were now entering a really complicated phase.  Tigger and Shadow would have the living room floor of the house.  However, they were still not speaking to each other since the falling apart of their bond when Shadow became so ill with his lengthy inner ear infections.  So they had side by side cages, but separate run times.  Now we had added Portia in to have the kitchen / dining room floor.  In order to keep rabbit order and well-being, we had to continue to have gates at the top and bottom of the stairs to keep Shadow and Tigger from being able to meet up with Portia.

Next week … living with multiple rabbit encampments …

The Perils of Pretty Portia

Close Up of PortiaPortia was a rescue bunny who first came to our attention early in 2003. I was helping out at a rabbit adoption day at a pet store and met a handsome and friendly Chinchilla rabbit named Bentley. Bentley had been found with two other rabbits shut up in an abandoned car. It was fortunate someone came across them soon to rescue them from certain death due to lack of food and water or exposure to extremes of heat or cold.

The three rabbits had some issues as a group so they were separated for adoption.  They were given the names Bentley, Mercedes and Portia as the three bunnies who were found in a car. In Portia’s case the name sounded like the pronunciation of Porsche even though they gave her the spelling for the human name.

After meeting Bentley and hearing his story, I looked up the other two rabbits online to see what they looked like. Mercedes was a beautiful black female while Portia was a Chinchilla like Bentley, but a smaller female. Over a period of about six months, the look Portia had in her picture kept calling me back to see if she had been adopted. During that time we were having a really unsuccessful time trying to reestablish the bond of Tigger and Shadow that had been broken when Shadow became so ill with his inner ear infection.

Looking back now, I am not sure what I was thinking, but at the time I think I read somewhere that sometimes groups of rabbits bond better than two. Out of feeling desperate to try anything with Tigger and Shadow and wanting to meet Portia, we arranged to visit her foster home. Portia was thought to be a year old and she was super cute. If you have never seen a Chinchilla rabbit in person, the fur is like having a living stuffed rabbit. The fur is incredibly plush and your hand sinks in before you feel the rabbit body. Her face was gorgeous with eyes outlined with a black ring and deep black lashes as if she had put on eyeliner and mascara. Her whole underside was the most beautiful snowy white fur.

We interacted with Portia, petting her and talking with the foster parents about what she was like. They told us a number of people had visited to see her and said she seemed to be responding more to us than others. Then we watched her hopping around the living room. Portia had a very different build than Tigger and Shadow. She had a larger bone structure and felt several pounds heavier. She was solid while they were sleek. Portia had a slower hop around style compared to Tigger and Shadow’s high-speed runs. We thought perhaps watching her that she might be a bit more settled than they were, more mellow. We decided to take her home for a try out to see if she would get along with Tigger and Shadow and perhaps help to mend their broken bond.

Next week … Shadow and then Tigger introduce themselves to Portia … what were we thinking?

 

 

Plan Ahead for International Rabbit Day 2012

International Rabbit Day 2012

Until last year, I didn’t know that anyone had designated a day to think about rabbits other than the obvious, Easter, which can be a very bad day for live rabbits who go to homes unprepared for their daily longterm care.  Then someone sent me a link to the website Holiday Insights with information about how the day started and the intent to promote the well-being of rabbits.  It is usually set for the Fourth Saturday in September which would be the 22nd 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! ”  Visit the Holiday Insights page for more information on the meaning and origin of International Rabbit Day.

The Etsy Rabbits team is planning to get the word out that the day exists by creating treasuries (Etsy member curated showcases) during September showcasing rabbit themes, items and the shops of Etsy Rabbits team members.  There are currently over 300 members of the team from countries around the world.  Most have shops on Etsy, but those who have buyer accounts on Etsy are welcome to join too. If you love to buy or create bunny rabbit themed items or items for rabbits, check out the team.  Members of the team love living rabbits and many members have one or more big eared friends at home.  Some members are actively involved with assisting rabbit rescue groups.  I will post some links to treasuries soon as more get going creating them and will be creating some treasuries myself.

On Friday, the first story of how we first met Portia bunny rabbit …

Meet the Velcro Rabbit

Tigger the Velcro RabbitPreviously, I wrote about how much Tigger hated being picked up and held.  There came to be one place that was an exception for her where she wanted me to hold her and not put her down.

It was my custom at vet visits to keep handling of Tigger to a minimum thinking that was what she prefered.  So I would pick her up out of her carrier, put her on the scale to get her weight and then put her right back into the carrier afterwards until the vet would come in to examine her.  I discovered Tigger the Velcro Rabbit by accident.  Usually, I am wearing knit tops, Tees for the most part.  On one visit when she was about a year and a half old, it was chilly and I had on a sweater.

I was following my usual procedure and after the weigh in, I picked Tigger back up intending to put her back in her carrier.  That was when I discovered she was attached to my sweater.  She had hooked her little claws around the loose knit weave and wasn’t letting go.  I held on to her petting her and talking to her while we waited for the vet.  It was a bit of a problem detaching her from my sweater to then put her down for the exam when the vet came in.  It occurred to me that the vet’s office was perhaps an exception to Tigger’s don’t hold me rule. 

After that visit when she needed to go in, I would hold her and talk to her while we waited for the vet.  Many times she would hide her head underneath my arm and not want to even look around.  She would try to hold on to me and not want to be put down for the exam.  At times if the vet or vet tech forgot and didn’t continue to hold her quite firmly at the end the exam, she would actually make a little leap off the table straight into my arms.  I made sure to be standing right at the table at all times talking to her, petting her head or covering her eyes if she was getting really scared.  My rabbit was like Velcro and sticking to me in preference over the vet. I was clearly her chosen security. 

It was humbling and awesome to know that I had earned her trust to the level that she was placing herself in my care by her choice.  From that time forward whenever I held her at the vet or later in life when we needed to hold her for medicine, feedings or to clean her up, she also earned the nickname Baby Girl.  That is how we would be talking to her at those times:  “It’s okay Baby Girl”, “It will be over soon Baby Girl”, “We’ll look after you Baby Girl’, “Good Tigger, sweet Baby Girl”.

If it hadn’t been for wearing that sweater, I might not have discovered how much Tigger had come to regard me as her protector and that she wanted me to hold her and comfort her at the vet’s office.  So if you have a very independent rabbit and are trying to respect that, you might want to check to see if the vet’s office is an exception zone where they too would actually like some comfort cuddling.  We never took Tigger to the vet unnecessarily just to get cuddles, but it was a bonus to the visits to be able to make the visits better for her and get some snuggles in return.  Because of what we learned from Tigger, we also discovered that Shadow too sometimes wanted to be held and comforted while at the vet.  

 

Tasmanian Devil Bunny

Abstract of Tasmanian Devil BunnyNo pictures on this one.  However, they would have been a blur of motion like this abstract drawing where you see the jumble and tumble of swirling bunny parts.  It is a bit dizzying to look at and so was Tigger if you picked her up as a baby bunny. 

Tigger was like trying to hold on to the whirling dervish Tasmanian Devil of the Bugs Bunny cartoons.  You saw motion and body parts with brief stops.  Tigger tended not to stop until I would get smart and put her back down.  She made it quite clear that to her the term four on the floor also applied to rabbits.  All four paws were to remain on the floor unless she decided on a lift off. 

It was a real exercise to hold on to her safely as she would squirm, wiggle, somersault and do flip-flops in my arms.  In a blur of dizzy speed her head would be up, down, right, left and then repeat the process …  Everywhere the head went the little paws followed and those little paws had kitty sharp claws.  It was early summer in Georgia when we got her, so I was usually in a V neck Tee and shorts.  I would end up scratched all over my arms, legs, neck and Tigger usually managed to get at least one paw hooked into the V neck of my shirt, so I got a good measure of scratches on my chest too.  It was embarrassing to have to admit that a rabbit less than three pounds had mauled me.

I kept trying to pick her because up at first we hadn’t gotten the room with her cage bunnyproofed and I would carry her to the kitchen for run times.  We got that room bunnyproofed pretty quickly and fortunately Tigger was a quick study with the litter box so we didn’t need the easy clean kitchen for long. Then I could allow some of the wounds to heal for a bit.  I continued trying to pick her up but a little less often, attempting to get her used to being held.  Tigger never really got with the whole being held program with one exception that I will talk about in the next post. 

We had wanted to try to do nail clippings at home, but always had to take her to the vet for that.  She needed the fear factor of the trip to hold still enough for exams and nail trims.  Even with that fear factor, it would take three people for exams, two to hold her while the vet examined and two people for nail trims, one to hold and one to trim.  Since Tigger’s top weight was never higher than 5 1/2 pounds, it was extremely close quarters for the humans at vet visits trying to hold one very small bunny rabbit still without stepping all over each other.

It was just amazing how strong and agile one small bunny rabbit could be.  Later in life when she needed medicating or cleaning up due to old age issues, she would still run like crazy trying to get away, not wanting to be picked up.  The difference was that when I did pick her up, she would be amenable to getting things over and done with as soon as possible so that I would put her back down.  Still, she was a two person job.  One of us had to hold her, while the other medicated her or worked on fur cleaning issues.  The response to being put back down did not change no matter what her age.  Once she hit the floor, she would hop off a bit flicking her back paws as she went and would then stop and thump once or a few times depending on how violated she felt by our interference with her person.

We tried to respect Tigger’s desire not to be picked up and only picked her up when her care or safety required it.  The rest of the time, we chose to get to know her and let her get to know us on her terms.  We sat on the floor or laid on our stomach or side on the floor, letting her come to us to interact as she chose.  The room she was in at first was a combination guest bedroom / office.  Sometimes we would sit on the floor with our backs up to the bed.  Tigger would hop on our laps and run up our bodies to get up on the bed. Later she learned to take flying leaps up on the bed and would play with us there.  Blaine would take a sock and play a very gentle tug of war by just giving her some resistance with him holding on to the sock so that she was the one actually tugging at it.  That usually tired her out and she would then take a nap between his legs.

Getting to know Tigger on her terms was rewarding.  Many times over the years she would hop up and bestow sweet bunny kisses on our foreheads.  As she slowed down some late in life, we would have the opportunity to lay beside her snuggling for a time while petting her. 

Coming Next on Friday, meet the Velcro Rabbit.

What’s Your Name Bunny Rabbit?

Baby Tigger Bunny RabbitOur little Tigger bunny was unforgettable.  Her looks were  unqiue, but she also packed a truly big rabbit personality into her little bunny size.  The vet she saw the longest summed it up when she said, “Tigger is many things, but stupid isn’t one of them!”  We had many nicknames for her over the years because of the oh so many sides to her looks and personality. 

We had read that it helps a rabbit to get to know their name by hearing it in every sentence to associate that name as being theirs.  We talked to her a lot all of her life. At first, we ended almost every sentence with her name.  However, Tigger might have thought at times that her name was “No, Tigger!” or “Tigger, No!”.  We found ourselves saying that a lot as she taught us a whole new level of bunnyproofing.  We didn’t shorten her name or call her anything else until it was clear that she recognized that when we said Tigger, we were talking to her.  In the decade with her, we embraced every possible variant of her name: Tig, Tigs, Tigster, Tiggers, Tiggery, Tiggirl. 

It always surprised people who weren’t familiar with rabbits that she knew her name.  She actually came to know a whole lot of words and phrases.  We were certain without doubt she knew her name, because when we had both rabbits and would yell “No Shadow”, Tigger would ignore us.  She knew we weren’t talking to her.  When we called her name, she would react.  It wasn’t always the reaction we wished, but she would react to her name.   We could be across the room and if we started to say, “Good Tigger, Good Bunny”, she would start to tooth purr.  We would be able to see her jaw gently moving as she purred.

There were a couple of nicknames she earned by her size and shape:  Half-Pint Harley, Little Bit, Hipless Wonder, Weasel Bunny.  Most nicknames we called Tigger were based on her personality:  Princess, Lady Bunny, Tasmanian Devil, Air Bunny, Wiggle Worm, Freakazoid, Squirrel, Tiny Terror, Little Stinker, Pretty Bunny, Model Bunny, Kitty Bunny, Velcro Rabbit, Baby Girl.

How did one very small rabbit come to have so many names? All these nicknames have a story.  By telling you her nicknames now, I am giving a preview of some stories to come.  Tigger packed an awful lot into her decade of life.  She so rarely looked to be really resting.  Most of the time she seemed to be plotting and planning her next move, the next thing she would try.  She was energetic beyond belief for the bulk of her life, right up until just the last few months.  It was like having a living breathing Energizer bunny rabbit who would just keep on going and going.  It was amazing to know her!

Coming Next on Wednesday, meet the Tasmanian Devil bunny.

 

Tigger Visits The Vet

Tigger on phone book

So Tigger, are you looking for your vet?

Since I hadn’t planned on bringing a bunny home, I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to find a good vet.  It actually turned out that a rabbit savvy vet was close to where we lived.  I set up an appointment.  Then I had to find another larger pet store to get a proper carrier for Tigger to travel in.  The original pet store had not had one and we had to bring her home in a cardboard pet box which was no way for a bunny to travel, dark and scary and easy to chew through if a rabbit got motivated enough.

I picked out a small kitty carrier where the top could be separated from the bottom allowing for easier storage and cleaning.  The top and front had metal grille doors allowing for putting Tigger in through either opening and checking on her from the top to help prevent really easy escapes out an opened front door.

After making the appointment, we put the carrier in Tigger’s running space in the kitchen to get her used to it, so that it wasn’t completely unfamiliar when she had to go into it for the trip.  Right away, as little as she was, she hopped up on top of it.  That was an early sign of things to come with Tigger.  First she sat up and looked at something and then she jumped on top of it.

Tigger on carrierOn the day of the appointment, I put Tigger into the carrier and put it on the passenger seat next to me with the door facing me so that we could see each other on the trip.  I used the seatbelt and shoulder harness to strap in the carrier to keep it in place should any sudden stops be needed which unfortunately occur a lot in busy metro Atlanta traffic.  I drapped a small towel over the carrier top so that the sun wouldn’t shine in her eyes, but made sure the side vents were clear for enough air circulation.  Then we were off.

There wasn’t a whole lot of Tigger for the vet to examine.  I don’t remember her exact weight, but it was somewhere between 2 1/2 and 3 pounds.  She was just a handful of bunny.  The vet checked her over giving his opinion that it did indeed look like we had a little girl.  The best news was that she was an otherwise healthy bunny who was malnourished due to a bad diet.  He gave me a brochure for the Oxbow Company and suggested that I order some Alfalfa hay and pellets to fatten up our baby.  Then we would add greens in upcoming months and switch to Timothy hay and pellets later on when she was full-grown.  We discussed spaying her in about four months when she would be about six months old.

Tigger and I both left happy, she to be leaving the poking and prodding behind and I with fears of larger health problems relieved.  I ordered her Alfalfa hay and pellets right away.  When they arrived a few days later and I opened the package, it was like receiving a box full of meadow.  The smell was wonderful.  If I was a rabbit, I would have been all over that food.  So, great new hay and pellets on board, bunny is about to be fattened up shortly.

That is when we started to get the drift that Tigger had a very stubborn little bunny mind and did not want to change from what she was used to which was the awful guinea pig pellets.  I followed suggestions from rabbit sources online to mix the old pellets with the new.  Tigger would pick out all the bad stuff and leave her good rabbit pellets behind.  It took weeks and we were down to the very last spoonful of the guinea pig pellets before she decided that she liked her new Alfalfa pellets and switched over to eating them.  Fortunately while she was arguing the pellets, she was liking the new Alfalfa hay.  Slowly our bunny baby started losing some of her very bony feel.

Coming next, there’s a Tigger in the kitchen!

A Tigger Bunny’s Tale Begins

Baby Tigger bunny rabbitEleven years ago we were shopping in the local mall just before Easter.  As we passed the pet store, I saw they had baby bunnies.  I have always been dubious of the health of pet shop animals and whether they had enough human interaction to be good pets, but I couldn’t ever resist petting little bunny heads if I saw they had some. 

Our family had one house rabbit as a pet and Thumper had been my favorite pet.  Blaine and I wanted to get a pet or two now that we were living somewhere that we could.  Blaine had suggested a rabbit since he knew that would be my first choice.  I knew Thumper was going to be a tough act to follow though.  He was a rare snuggle bunny.  Another rabbit was going to lose in the comparison unless they really wanted to get to know me and interact with me.  I wasn’t sure how to go about finding a rabbit that would choose me. 

Anyway, back to the baby bunnies close at hand that day in the mall.  The store had a good-sized pen and rabbits of all different colors and breeds.  Some were flopped, some eating, some were bouncing around.  None of them wanted to do anything with us except get away.  We petted a few heads and as we turned to leave, a store employee walked up.  He was carrying the most beautiful and unusually colored rabbit we had ever seen.  He told us the tiger-striped bunny was his favorite.  We talked with him for a few minutes and then left and headed home.

A couple of weeks later in early May, I was back in the mall on my own.  As I walked towards the pet store, I saw they had a pedestal with a glass enclosure on top that they had pushed about a dozen feet outside the store’s doorway.  From a distance I could see one bunny.  I felt bad because I didn’t think the rabbit had good chances now of finding a home after Easter.  As I walked closer, I was surprised to see the tiger-striped bunny.  Being a staff favorite and having such beautiful coloring, I had expected this bunny to easily find a home.

As I stopped in front of the pedestal, I put my hand on the outside of the glass.  The rabbit raced over, sat up on hind legs and placed both front paws exactly where my hand was.  I was toast, the bunny rabbit wanted to interact with me.  I picked the bunny up and got a real shock.  I had expected to feel a chubby baby bunny body, instead the rabbit was skin and sharp bones. 

The rabbit had a lot of energy, clear eyes and did not appear ill, but something was clearly wrong since the bunny was so thin.  I realized I could put the bunny back down and walk away.  I didn’t really want to buy a pet shop animal.  However, I knew in my heart if I walked away, the rabbit would likely die soon.  There was so much life and energy in this bunny who was wiggling all over and looking me in the eyes as I was checking all systems out head to tail.  I knew I had to take a chance and give this beautiful rabbit a chance to live.

I called up Blaine who worked nearby and asked if he could take his lunch break and help me take our new bunny home.  He said sure.  While I waited for him to arrive, I began making arrangements for our new bunny.  That is when I started to get some idea why the rabbit might be so thin.  The store didn’t have anymore rabbit food and had been using guinea pig pellets.  They had also been putting some vitamins in the water bowl which turned it neon yellow.  I could only imagine what it might taste like.  I picked out the cage and accessories, got a couple of litter boxes and pellet litter.  They had some hay, so I got that too and some chew toys.  The store gave me a bag of the guinea pig pellets to maintain the current diet.  A vet visit and finding someone who had good rabbit food was on my short list for the immediate future.

Blaine arrived and asked about a name for our new little friend.  He suggested Tiger.  The name was right for the coloring but in our brief acquaintance, there was something very delicate about my new friend.  I knew that it could take 3 or 4 months to really ID a boy bunny as male.  This bunny looked like a girl, but I knew not to trust that yet.  However, I really felt we had a little girl on our hands and wanted a softer name than Tiger.  I had always loved Tigger in Winnie the Pooh.  Tigger talked about all the other Tiggers, so there were obviously male and female Tiggers.  Pooh’s Tigger was also quite bouncy.  I thought whether boy or girl, Tigger would be a name that would fit a bouncy bunny rabbit.  So I suggested Tigger, we agreed and took our new little Tigger bunny rabbit home.

Coming next, a little Tigger gets her first visit with the vet.

Good Evening Rabbits

Shadow and TiggerI have been quiet for a few months, juggling a lot.  Late September and October brought the worst fall allergy season in years.  I hit bottom on my energy level and Tigger and Shadow were experiencing some on again off again illnesses.  As the allergy season moved to its end, I bounced back, to realize that the rabbits were not rebounding from illness as they had been.  There have been a number of vet visits, a lot of prescriptions and a lot of bunny care.

At the beginning of this year, the vet confirmed what I had already recognized.  My funny furry little friends are closing in on the end of their lives.  They have finally reached a place where they are showing their age.  We have entered the realm of rabbit assisted living / hospice care.  That isn’t due to any specific serious illness right now, but things that are now chronic and reoccurring.  It is also based on the fact that some diagnostic tests and treatments are no longer safe given their senior age.  Tigger is due to turn eleven at the end of this month and Shadow at the end of April.  So everything now is focused on keeping them as comfortable, active and pain-free as they can be.  We have standing medications on hand and on file with the vet to be prepared to treat some of the chronic pain and illnesses that have become a regular part of their life and ours.  

It was so sad early on coming to grips with the realization they have entered this end stage.  I now accept it is a joyful time.  They are still with us and bring us so many smiles and laughter.  Tigger and Shadow run a senior version of the Bunny 500 on good days.  They binky and come running to us and still do adorable bunny dances for treats.  Everything they do is just slower and with more care.  They are actually more snuggly with us right now than they have been at any other point in their lives.  Afternoons and evenings, we will see them flopped together, leaning in to each other, propping each other up. 

So we will take things as they come.  I plan to blog a few times a week about the bunnies and what we are up to with the Rabbittude website and shops.

A Picture Instead of 1000 Words

Tigger Kicked BackThroughout the month of September we were dealing with on and off stomach issues with Tigger. She would be on and off her diet and need gas meds, pain meds, and force feedings of Oxbow Critical Care at times and syringed water. On the 24th, we wrote that she seemed to have turned the corner. Since then she has continued to improve and the picture shows that improvement.

With bunnies, we have learned that subtle behavior changes can signal their health issues more clearly if you watch them closely. When Shadow spends a lot of time cleaning his ears or has one ear up, one ear down, we know it is time to have the vet take a look at his ears for an inner or outer ear problem.

With Tigger, a clear signal that her tummy is fine can be seen in this photo. She is kicked back with her back legs stretched out and is lying full-out on her stomach out in the open. When she starts pulling her legs underneath her and looking like a bunny hen all the time, she is starting to have some issues and doesn’t want to lay on her stomach.  Especially if she does that in places where it isn’t easy to reach her, we know she needs some help.

Our key to keeping our bunnies going throughout their ten and half years is keeping a close eye on their behavior, knowing quite well what is and is not normal for them.  We have learned to recognize the small changes in their daily activity that can be signals of changes in their health.  Since both bunnies are elderly now, we keep a closer watch on them now than we did when they were younger and act more quickly if it seems something isn’t right. 

Being able to have more pictures like this makes life so sweet.