Shadow 2010

[Kim1218]

After losing our first bunnyon February 13, a lionhead named Sunny, I wasn't sure we would get another rabbit. I told my daughter, Kaitlyn (7),that we would get a smaller animal, maybe a hamster or guinea pig. We had gone to several pet stores to check out the animals, but neither of us seemed really excited about those animals. Then we decided to check out the bunnies. There were a couple bunnies from one litter who seemed pretty friendly with us, but we left the store empty-handed. I had to talk with my fiance before bringing home a new bunny. We went back & forth for about a week before he agreed to getting another rabbit. On March 12 I returned to the pet store to see their litter of rabbits. By this time they were 6 months old, and there were only 2 left. Lucky for us, one of the remaining rabbits was one of the friendly ones, so we took her home. She quickly became part of our family, and completely won over Shane's (my fiance) heart!

Last week Thursday we had her spayed because of the cancer risks involved with female rabbits. I was afraid it would take weeks, or even months, for her to forgive me for bringing her to the vet. It was an unfounded fear, as she returned to her friendly temperament so quicky! Within the first couple days back at home she was coming to the front of her cage for attention, and rubbing & kissing our fingers. Soon after that she was trying to shove her cage door open (I posted that story somewhere already, but I'll find it and add it here, too), and squeeze her way out every time her cage was opened. Today she got out when I cleaned her cage, and I left her out for a short time. She ran a bit, then stretched out along the wall and rested. I felt bad putting her back in her cage after her little taste of freedom, but she'll be out in just a few more days. I had initially planned on her being a caged pet, and letting her run just in one room for a couple hours a day. Now I'm thinking we'll have to bunny-proof the rest of the house so she can run free....at least during the day! I am just thrilled that she's turned out to be such a sweetheart!

 

[Kim1218]

We named our bunny Shadow not only because of her black and gray coloring, but also because she sometimes follows us along almost underfoot. Here's the escape story:


My bunny scared me half to death one morning. I woke up to the sounds of a critter under my bed. I thought it was a mouse & shook the bed to scare it off, but it got louder. Then Shadow suddenly ran out from under the bed! Crazy bunny escaped from her cage! Actually it's more like a bunny condo. On the bottom level the whole front is a door that opens on hinges right onto the ground. It stays closed with a little knob that pops in between two rollersinside the cage. Our other bunny never escaped, but Shadow must have pushed it right open. The whole outside is made from wood except for the front of the top level is like chicken wire fencing stuff. I got a hook & eye lock and installed it right by the nob, but I still have to put a rubber band around the lock & knob together to keep the door securely shut.

 

[kirbyultra]

Eep, what a silly bunny!

 

[Kim1218]

I don't post pictures often, so hopefully I get this right!

Shadow's "Bunny Condo"

The extra lock to keep her in:

The lock from inside. The little knob-thing on the bottom pops between the two rollers at the top.

Her first taste of banana. No, I didn't let her eat the whole thing - just about 1/2 inch off the top.

Shadow's Easter basket, which she has already destroyed:

 

[Kim1218]

Ooooh, I have a sassy bunny lately. She insists on dumping her hay all over her cage. She turns the entire bowl upside down within an hour or me cleaning up her mess! She never did this before, so I'm thinking she's just being sassy becasue she wants OUT. I'm not going to keep cleaning it up, so I guess she can live with the mess until she can get out and burn off her energy. Otherwise I'll have to bring out the power tools to put in some anchors for a hay rack. She's still as sweet as ever when I approach her cage, and she still tries to escape when I open it up. Now she's sitting up on her hind legs when I lift the roof. I'm afraid she'll take a flying leap before I can stop her. It's been a week since her spay, but the vet said to keep her confined for 10-14 days. Poor Shadow, I'd go crazy if I were laid up for that long too...

 

[Kim1218]

Day 9, and I finally gave in. I let Shadow out today, and she is going nuts! She's running laps around everything she can, and chinning everything, too! She won't even go near her cage for fear of being locked back in! Now to begin the process of bunny-proofing the rest of the house so she can really stretch her legs.

 

[Kim1218]

I finished bunny-proofing most of the house today. She now has run of the living room, hallway, Kailtyn's bedroom, kitchen, and most of my bedroom. The bathroom door can stay closed. One thing I'm wondering is how to keep her out from under my bed. That's where there are cords I can't keep up and out of her reach. Until I get that figured out she isn't allowed in there. Any ideas to keep her out from under the bed? She's had free run of the house today and I haven't found any "accidents"! I was worried about that because the only litter box is in her cage.

 

[katt]

more photos please? gosh i love black bunnies!

 

[Kim1218]

katt wrote:

more photos please? gosh i love black bunnies!

Oh, yours is so cute eating pumpkin from the can! I haven't given Shadow pumpkin yet. I have a bunch more pictures on my camera, I've just been too lazy to plug it into the computer. She's really enjoying having her freedom back!

 

[Kim1218]

Shadow decided to take a taste of the woodwork today. I don't know what possessed her to chomp on it now - she never has before. We rent, so I really can't have her doing any damage. Is there anything out there, like a spray of some kind, to make the wood taste and/or smell yucky to a bunny? Anyway, here are some more pics of my sassy girl...

Feeding her a carrot from my mouth. I just HAD to try it!

Kicked back, hoping that the heat comes on

Her "Ugh, you interrupted my rest!" look

Taking a break in her willow bunny tent. She look so long from behind!

I have to lure her back towards her cage with a snack

Just cute!

I had to peek in the door to her cardboard cave to get this pic.

 

[Kim1218]

Miss Shadow has been busy finding all kinds of hidey holes all over the place. It's incredible the tiny spaces she can squeeze into! My favorite one is the bottom shelf of my daughter's loft bunk beds. Shadow has to jump up on the bottom bed to get down behind it, then she hides on the bottom shelf of the lofted bunk. It's like her own personal cave. She also likes to squish her little furry body in between me & whatever I'm looking at, whether it's my laptop, a book, or whatever. I pretty much always lay on the floor with her, and give her tons of attention. She loves getting kisses and climbing all over me! She also LOVES those little colored pretzel shaped treats. I have renamed them "Bunny Crack" because she acts like a nut when I shake the bag. She'll come running from across the house when she hears the crinkling! She might be just a little spoiled. Only a little, though

 

[Kim1218]

I've been spending extra time with Shadow lately, working on a really strong bond. We're definitely making progress. Tonight while I was laying on the floor with her she ran high speed circles around my head. She even leapt over my body during her circling and just went around my head. Then she did a dramatic flop onto her side so she was laying right up against my side. She stayed for maybe 5 minutes or so, completely at ease, then went on her way again. It's so exciting to reach all these little milestones with her. Shadow seems to especially love grooming my fiance's arm hair, lol! He has always claimed to be strictly a dog person, but he's quickly being won over! Shadow is becoming much more relaxed around our daughter, too. She lets Kaitlyn give her "floor snuggles" and kiss all over her, but doesn't jump on her lap yet. Is it unusual for a rabbit to bond with multiple people? It seems like she's accepted all of us as her family. She just flopped down almost on top of my arm as I'm typing this Sweet little snuggle bunny!

 

[cheryl]

Great pictures..Shadow is just adorable..

 

[Wabbitdad12]

I like the sub title to your blog it gave me a chuckle. Its good you realized right away who is really in charge.

I know what you mean, I am amazed at some of the places my buns can get into, including my bigger bunny's.

Shadow has a double in Indiana her name is Skippery.

 

[Kim1218]

Well, Shadow has been a bit naughty in the last week. We got a new couch, and she has decided that it's a great place to potty. She used to poo on the old one, but she has already peed on this one. Within a week of getting it I already had to use the warranty to have it cleaned. I know it's my own fault for leaving her unattended, and I forgot to toss the blanket over it when I left the room. So this morning the guy came to clean it, and already Shadow has peed in the same spot again! This time the blanket was there, so it was just a matter of washing it, but still! Such a sassy little girl! She's still as sweet as ever, though, so I can't stay mad at her for long. Last night Shadow decided to lay on the foot of my daughter's bed at her bedtime. Kaitlyn was absolutely delighted, too excited to actually go to sleep, so I had to take Shadow back out to the living room. This is when she peed on the covered couch - maybe she was mad at me for moving her? She has completely torn through the bottom of her cardboard "cave", and destroyed half of the phone book I gave her. It's funny that no matter what kinds of toys I buy for her she still prefers the free ones, lol!

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Could be, bunny's can hold a grudge. She could also be trying to remind you of who is really in charge.

 

[Kim1218]

A couple days ago I got Shadow to do the purring thing with her teeth. She was laying next to me on the floor and I was petting her. I could barely hear it, but she was "purring" for me! Yesterday I bought her some orchard grass to mix in with her timothy hay, for some variety. Apparently she really likes the orchard grass because she picked it all out! I hope she'll still eat the timothy because I have tons of it. I also expanded her home domain to include every room except the kitchen. We removed the frame from under our bed so she can't hide there anymore. If only I could keep her off the couch I could let her roam free all day. For some reason that's the only place she likes to potty besides her litter box. I think I'm going to make a big panel out of NIC grids to lay over the couch to keep her away. Believe it or not, she's afraid of them! In the meantime we'll just have to keep shoo-ing her off until she understands that she's not allowed there.

 

[Kim1218]

I might have completely messed up Shadow's diet. I don't know what kind of pellets she was on because I dumped them into a storage container and threw out the bag, so I just picked some out & saved the bag this time. Now she barely touches them. Hopefully she'll get back to her normal eating habits soon.
We've also managed to pretty much break her of jumping onto the couch. I made a large panel of NIC grids to cover the couch whenever she is unsupervised in the living room. Now she rarely tries to jump up even when someone is sitting on the couch. Funny enough, she just shifted her pooing from on the couch to the floor in front of it.....so I bought another litter box to put there, and she's doing well so far! In fact, I think she goes there more that in the one in her cage.
Shadow continues to be a "toy snob" too. She has zero interest in any of the toys I get her. She'll toss a jingly ball if I wave it in her face, otherwise she couldn't care less. The only thing she really seems to enjoy is her carboard box fort. She has torn up most of the floor in the box, so I started covering the floor with phone book pages. I think she really likes rooting around in all the shredded paper, and boy does she make a mess with it, lol! She tracks it all over the place because it sticks in her fur.

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Kim1218 wrote:

I think she really likes rooting around in all the shredded paper, and boy does she make a mess with it, lol! She tracks it all over the place because it sticks in her fur.

That would be a cute picture!

 

[Kim1218]

It's crazy how much really happens with a pet bunny over time - all of their antics and personalities and such. Shadow has officially been kicked out of my bedroom. She peed on our bed on Tuesday. I thought maybe I scared it out of her because she jumped when I walked into the room. No big deal, I washed the blankets and continued to let her hang out in there. Then she peed on it again last night. Now I think the first time when I thought I scared it out of her, that she jumped because she was interrupted and/or got caught. She has been good about the couch, though
I'm pretty sure she's over her diet troubles as well. She's back to eating all her daily pellets after the accidental switch. She's still a little funny about her hay, though. She used to munch on whatever hay was in her bowl no matter how long it had been in there (but I still dump it once a week and start fresh), but now she seems to want only fresh hay every day. She won't touch it until I give her some fresh hay. I'll have to start giving her little bunches at a time so it doesn't go to waste on my little diva.
Shadow started her first big fur shedding about a week ago. Molting? That's what birds do, lol! She has lost most of the gray fluff on her hind legs and rear end. I discovered a small knot of matted fur near her tail while brushing out her loose fur, and she actually sat there and let me cut it out. I hope she doesn't lose the fluff on & around her face - it's so cute! She'll really look like a little lion then.
She has discovered a new favorite plaything...paper towels. I have bought her so many toys & chew things, but she only likes the free stuff she finds around the house. She'll go nuts tearing into a forgotten paper towel, and toss the pieces all over. If I pick it up and tickle her with it she binkies all over the place and comes back for more. I gave her an open-top box full of torn up pages from a phone book. She didn't have much interest in it until I cut out holes on either end so she can run right through it.
Shadow is about 9 months old now. I know that a lot of bunnies are abandoned at that age, but I can't imagine it. I love how active she is, and watching her have fun zipping around the house. I'm even a jungle gym for her when I lay on the floor! I love it! I love all her little kisses and nudges, and even the little nips. She makes me smile every day, no matter what else is going on in my life.