I was too busy struggling with the 120 pound bale of hay getting it out of the truck and up the steps with poor VIncent to take any pics. (Vinceby that time was getting quite antsy, turns out he had an important errand to run back in Burnaby, we made him miss it!).
And there was no time for themtostick around to meet and greet my bunnies,see the two newbies get settled and indulge in a piece of cake to thank them for their HUGE effort in all of this...
So ... :thanks:Andsorry guys, and I can't thank you enough!!! (I'm sure Vincent agrees!!!) :laughsmiley:
I didn't have anything at home set up, other than shipping Sherry off to bunny boot camp -- aka my upstairs neighbour's place.I was waiting to see who 'wanted' to settle where. I ended up setting upan x-pen I borrowed from Dawn next to my foster bunny pen for Marvin -- who was a bit upset -- and letting Scooter have run of the house, seeing as that was always the intention.
Big mistake there.
Marvin was a happy bunny -- at least until I made the mistake of using a broom a couple of feet away fromhimwhen I switched the x-pen for a quickly (and not well) built NIC cage again next to the fosters. Poor little guy flipped right out! He was running and wimpering (loudly), totally panicked. He actually didn't eat or poop after that for at least 12 hours. :shock: I felt terrible!
But he's good now. Unfortunately he'sbeen totally smitten with Lisa and Peaches, the foster girls. I really don't want THATbonding, and I'm sureneither does the rescue. (They bring two and get back three. Lovely).
Scooter, as you can see, isn't quite so smitten -- they got the bunny butt -- but at least he didn't tryand kill them.
Unlike the cats and humans. :no::thud:
Fair warning, this isn't all a cute, heartwarming rescue story. We have some real issues to resolve here.
I had no problem with Scooter. After seeing Dawn emerge unscathed, I heppily petted his nose and head and he happily enjoyed it. He would turn around and nip for whatever reason -- definitely needs anger management courses as Julie said -- but sometimes it's just to nip. Part of the conversation.I find that endearing. Painful, but endearing. :love:
But I'm not the cats.
It started off well. Scooter hopped on overSkye, she's a tiny cat, he's not a big bunny. She didn'tmind him being up close and personal at all. She likes my bunnies, she wants to be friends withthem -- unlike Putty, who ignores them and Houli who hates them. Scooterdid get too 'in her face' though and after a bit she did hiss and half-heartedly swat.
(Ignore the half-painted floor).
He moved on to Putty and Houli, my blind 19 year old and her 18 year old daughter, whowere sleeping in the kitchen. At one point he hopped right on top of Puttyon his way to check out what was inside the open cupboard. The cats were amazing, they just ignored him.
But then it fell apart. :shock:
anic:
The progression of these pics is as follows -- he moves in, cats ignore him. He finds the base ofHouli's tail... and bites. Hard. A very surprised cat takes off with a mini-rex hanging off her tail.
And it got way worse.
At one point I wasin my entrance way when I heard what sounded like someone killing a cat outside, but when I went out on my porch,the sound was farther away. It was coming from inside the house! It was Scooter attackingpoor old blind Putty.
This time jumping right at her face and neck. :scared:
So. Marvin has a nice NIC cage set up to next to the fosters, and Scooter is in the x-pen.He was initially disappointed after being free-run all day, but he seems to have resigned himself to it.
The cats weren't the only problem. In three years of having bunnies allowed out on my porch, nobody has ever tried to squeeze through the railings and jump off the porch. Scooter managed to zip out the front door when somebody opened it during his explorations and within two minutes of being out there has squeezed through the railing and on to a slippery awning over the basement tenant's window. Had there not been a rug hanging over the balcony giving him some traction to get back up, not sure what would have happened, but his only way out would have been dropping eight feet or so to the ground. He came back up with much effort -- and then did it again! :devil
And one of the first things he did was to try and chew the LIVE wire going into the base of the floor lamp. There's a half inch section that wasn't covered by the wire protector,and he went for that. :nerves1
This bunny lives dangerously!
So now I'm in a quandry. We were really bonding well when he was running aound. The spot he pickedout of many was the one right outside my door. He was following me around like a puppy. And as long as you watched carefully while petting him, he was up for endless pets and ear rubs, and he was getting them. He let me pick him up, didn't even get mad. We were getting along famously.
I honestly don't mindbeing attacked by a 3 lb bunny.It doesn't scare me. Ioutweigh him. and bites and nips are pretty minor compared to the joy. And I can do better bunny-proofing.
My cats are another story -- especially when he's really doing damage and the cats are all special needs -- Putty isblind and small, Houli has all kinds of health issuesandshe was already the target -- in a playful way -- with Dill and Sherry (I think she hissed at them and they never forgave her).Skye is partially paralysed, she can't run away. For those reasons as well, it's very difficult to keep them in one area away from the bunnies. They need access to the litter box, Houli is allowed outside (the exercise was deemed more important than the risk). It's not fair to keep them cooped up in the kitchen, nor is it easy.
But Scooter made great progress in just one day without being caged or penned. I honestly think he'll be an awesome, sociable (but opinionated) rabbit in not much time if he's allowed be the free-run bunny he really needs to be.
The best case scenario? Bond him with Pipp and have him live in my cat-free room. (I'll have towear long pants and shoes instead of shorts and bare feet). But that's going to be onetough bonding. :sigh:
Pipp btw is furious about the new buns, as usual, but she very kindly hasn't started a poop fest. She's just biting my ankles when I go to leave the room.
h34r2
And Sherry at some point has to come back downstairs. Scooter doens't seem to be much of a bunny bunny, have my doubts about abonding there, and now that brings up the issue of penningfree-run Sherry if they do bond. But I guess that's the lesser of the worries. I just really hate 'downgrading' a bunny's life.
Definitely a dilema.
onder:
More later ...
sas :help
