Bunny sitter fail!

[Nitis3334]

So I just got back from vacation last night, my sister was watching the rabbits for 2 weeks. I come in, check everyone out. I go in my room and look at the rabbits cage. Somehow the top door of the enclosure is totally off, but apparently it didn't matter to much because the ramp somehow broke and was totally out of the cage. So fine, spend some time saying hello to everyone, fix the cage, clean up a bit. I next notice the rabbits don't seem like they have been eating. I look at the bowl and it is full of pellets, but it looked all clumped together, at first I thought they peed in it. So I go to get new pellets, when I go in the closet the door is wide open. I store the pellets in a large storage container since I usually buy 50 lb bags, so I also find the lid off the bin. I go to scoop the pellets and it appears they are all stuck together. As I sifted through it a bit more I couldn't believe it..... my cats were using the rabbit food as a litter box!!! I usually use the yesterdays news litter, which is a pellet litter, so I guess maybe they didn't notice the difference and thought I added a new litter box, but I just can't believe my sister didn't notice what was in the food bin. So I guess this will be the last time I will be going on vacation for a while....

 

[Yield]

LOL! Naughty cats >_>;; I would have noticed! Didn't it smell!?

Pretty similar thing happened to me... I was in Mackinac for two or three days, and my old neighbor (whom I call my brother) was watching the buns. I had all their veggies packaged already and they had a ton of hay already.. but he texted me and said they weren't eating their pellets. I told my mom "What if he's feeding them the wrong stuff!" and she was all like "Lil' Danny isn't that dumb." And so I accepted that answer and assumed the buns just missed me.

I get home.. and just as I suspected... He had been feeding them their litter the whole time! XDD

I was mad to say the least. But he knows now, sooo.. yeah XD

 

[Marrie]

Ouch, poor buns I can't believe your sister wouldn't notice the smell of cat urine!

 

[Nitis3334]

Well it is allergy season, so she said her nose is all stuffed up and hasn't been smelling anything lately. Still not sure what happened to her eyes :confused2:

And that is bad when someone confuses litter and food, lol. At least they had hay and veggies. My rabbits are still to young for to many veggies, but I guess they were living the last few days off of hay.

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

Poor buns. When I was about 13 I came home after two weeks at my grandma's to a empty food bowl and a skin and bones bun. I felt so bad I cried for hours and wanted to kill my mom.

 

[myheart]

Sad to say, but I haven't spent any major time away from home in ten years because I just don't trust anyone to sit with my fur-kids. So no vacations for me for about another ten years to come.... :wiggle

 

[Marrie]

When I lived with my parents, one always stayed home to take care of them. But I think I agree with you now, Janet. I wouldn't go on vacation atm even if I could, no one I know that I trust to care for my rabbits or bird.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We're lucky--our son gets the chore when we aren't around and he has bunnies too so no worries. He just brings his four over and they all stay at our place. Of course we do leave very explicit instructions on everything. Told him that if I come home and my plants are dead he gets to buy new ones for me, so now he even waters them per my schedule. Hard to believe someone that has working eyes couldn't see a problem with the food though.

 

[jujub793]

Lol maybe she did it in purpose so you wouldn't ask her to bun sit again

 

[slavetoabunny]

I have a pet sitting service I use when both me and my husband are away at the same time. I left her about 3 full pages of instruction, including a diagram of the room showing who was in each cage and where all the supplies are located. The worst thing that she ever did was give them too much food. The first time she took care of the buns, I came home to find everyone's bowls filled to the rim!

On that note, I am leaving in a few hours to spend the rest of the week in Greenville, SC and hubby has bunny duty. I had to pre-package all the salads for him this morning.

 

[hln917]

myheart wrote:

Sad to say, but I haven't spent any major time away from home in ten years because I just don't trust anyone to sit with my fur-kids. So no vacations for me for about another ten years to come.... :wiggle

Same here! Hubby and I will not take any trip together anymore ever since Baci suffered his first bout of statis and Shades now with her teeth issues. Even when we do, we miss the buns so much.

 

[Bassetluv]

I get home.. and just as I suspected... He had been feeding them their litter the whole time! XDD

That's exactly what my brother did too. When I got home from a weeks' vacation a few years ago I discovered the bunnies' food dishes were piled high with pelleted horse bedding, which is what I use for their litter boxes. Thankfully my sister had been feeding them for the first few days, my brother took over only for the last few. And thankfully too, I noticed he didn't seem to be paying attention when I was giving him care instructions for the rabbits, even though I kept saying, 'Ken, are you listening?' (he'd nod and say, 'YES!' rather impatiently, then go on talking again about his work), so I made sure I stressed that the rabbits never run out of hay or water. At least they did have that to feed on.

Needless to say, I now have the bin that contains the rabbit pellets clearly marked on the side "Rabbit Food* in magic marker. :biggrin2:

 

[Yurusumaji]

First and only time I ever asked someone to watch one of my rabbits was my aunt. When I came home I saw that the water in Punk's bottle was orange. ORANGE! I could see it from across the room. They had been pumping the pipes in our park and my aunt just apparently decided that orange water was fine.

I forget which chemical turns it orange, maybe iron, but I immediately changed it out for fresh, clear water.

These days we have 8 critters, 2 of which are the sugar gliders. The sugar gliders alone are a handful and we don't have anyone trustworthy around to critter-sit, so we don't vacation. Not to mention Apollo hates strange people and even hubby's friend who comes over once a week still gets barked at.

 

[Byfuzzerabbit]

I had to go see family a few times when I moved to VA. All the vets wanted $400 in tests to make sure she was clean which I thought was a joke. I found one that didn't need them. They were horrible they didn't clean her litter and I gave them extra litter. They gave her all her food at once so she didn't have any for 2 days. Also her water bottle was dry. We paid them to trim her tails and they clearly didn't. Not to mention they left her in some closet I doubt they even looked at her because she had peed on her blanket (she was probably angry) and I left clean ones but they didn't use them. She was so dirty I had to give her a bath when I got her home.

Oh Coffee was an angry bunny for a few weeks. Like I was the worst owner ever. I have friends to look after her now and they do a good job. She is still upset when I get back but it's only for a few days.

 

[Must_Love_Pets]

I am really suprised that your sister did not notice the wet clumping pellets. I am a clean make sure its all put back in it's place freak. So I always make sure lids are always on everything after they are used. I too have cats and my Bengal will pee in any box or laundry basket left right side up so I always make sure laundry baskets, boxes and any other baskets are upside down or have a lid knowing he will pee in it if he gets a chance.
NAUGHTY KITTER CATS!!!
Poor bunners!

 

[MiniLopHop]

My husband and I are going to a wedding out of state this summer for 10 days. I am really nervous about the rabbits. Our pet sitter has always been good and he has had rabbits in the past but this is the first long trip.

I leave spreadsheets as to who is who, what food, etc. and put portions in baggies is make things easier. I leave the vet's number and a credit card just in case. We have AC so heat won't be an issue.

Since this is the first time he's watched the rabbits I'm going to demo how to pick them up properly and tell him to call the vet right away, same day, if they stop eating or pooping. Anything else you can think of that's rabbit specific?