A Rabbit for Easter? Make Mine Chocolate

Easter is fast approaching and I know there are people out there who are thinking of making a gift of a rabbit to a loved one. If you haven't decided on one yet, please consider making that rabbit a chocolate one in honor of the Make Mine Chocolate campaign.

Don't get me wrong, I am completely okay with gifting a pet *IF* it is done right. Everything that comes into play with adopting a rabbit or a cat or a dog still comes into play when giving one as a gift. You need to know what you are getting into. You need to know that the animal is wanted and will be cared for its entire life.

I know that rabbits appear to be 'easy' pets because they are sold in a cage. People wrongly assume that if it is in a cage it is easy to take care of. You give it food the store provides, you clean out the bedding once a week, you make sure it has clean water. Sadly, this is a misnomer that often leads to bad pet experiences and it leads to a lot of misinformation and shortened lives for the animals.

Rabbits need room to run around. The cages that are generally provided for rabbits are not big enough for proper exercise. It is recommended that you create a play area for your rabbit so it is safely contained and it has some room to run and jump around. The reason the rabbit should be 'safely contained' is because they like to chew on everything. Rabbit's teeth never stop growing, so they need to constantly chew on things to wear them down. There is nothing that is safe from a bunny: electrical cords, baseboards, books, magazines, photo albums, table legs, just to name a few.

Proper nutrition is also a bit more than putting down a bowl of pellets. Rabbits need to continually eat to maintain proper gut mobility. Providing them with fresh hay is vital to their health, and some would argue that pellets are completely unnecessary. Fresh veg is good for a bunny, but only certain ones. Some fruit is also good, but not all fruit. Understanding what your bun can and can't eat is important.

I loved my rabbits and miss owning one quite keenly. If you honestly want a rabbit, Easter can be an adorable time to bring home a rabbit. If you decide to do it, please keep the rabbit's well-being in mind. If you have a lot of obligations on Easter and your house will be chaos, you might want to consider waiting and adopting one later. There will be a flood of rabbits to shelters in the coming weeks. Take the opportunity to discuss with the entire family the obligations of owning a rabbit, the complications and the needs of the rabbit. Buy a book on rabbit care, spend a few nights reading it and making a plan. Look up plans for rabbit enclosures so you can pick which one works for you and your family before you go shopping.

Tobin with Eli     and     Bri with Skippy

Bunnies are wonderful pets, but they are far from an 'easy' pet.

Read some of my other posts for Make Mine Chocolate a mission of the Columbus House Rabbit Society - here  or individual posts:

• 2016
• 2015
• 2014 (a repost of 2013)
• 2013
• 2012
• 2011
• 2003

Make mine chocolate

Easter is fast approaching. The Make Mine Chocolate movement is strong, and once again I want to add my voice to it.

Over the years, I have owned two rabbits. Tobin was a birthday gift to myself eons ago. He was so tiny he lived in a 10-gallon aquarium for a while. He lived 11 years before dying of cancer. Bri came along a few years after Tobin. I waited for the right rabbit and she was a sweetie, but she ended up bonding with my cats and not me. That is OK, she was still a lot of fun, and a joy, and I loved having her in the house.

Owning a rabbit is slightly different than most other animals of their size. They have more in common with hamsters and gerbils being rodents and prey animals.; They can be very loving and sweet and a lot of fun, and I would never want to discourage anyone from owning a rabbit, but you should know that they do entail some work.

Rabbits can and prefer to be litter trained. Providing a box big enough for them to sit in near a source of hay will pretty much litter train them. Their stool is round and very dry - often referred to as "pellets" From my experience, they do not seem to control when they come out, but since they are very dry and leave no marks, sweeping them up is easy and do not lead to problems.

Rabbits need to chew. There are multiple reasons behind this. They chew hay and food and need a constant and steady stream of it all day in order to maintain proper digestive health. Rabbits should always have good quality hay and it should make up the bulk of their diet. They are designed to be foragers and to eat all day. Rabbit Pellets - the commercial food you can buy for rabbits - are a good way to make sure the rabbit's nutrition is balanced, but it should not make up the bulk of a rabbit's diet - doing so will most likely cause the rabbit to become overweight. Think of them as a good multivitamin and feed accordingly. Vegetables and fruits are also integral to a healthy rabbit diet, the former more so than the latter, but fruits are a great treat and most rabbits enjoy them. Grains, nuts, and seeds are not. Some rabbits like them, and if you think of them as rare treats they can bring enjoyment to your bunny. I knew one woman who loved to give her bunny toast. Bri liked Melba Toast bits. Tobin hated carrots..

Rabbits also chew for mental and physical reasons. Physically, their teeth do not stop growing. If a rabbit doesn't wear down their teeth with chewing and gnawing, they will become overgrown and impair the rabbit's ability to eat. Normally their teeth line up and the act of chewing wear them down naturally. If a rabbit's teeth do not line up properly, regularly scheduled trips to the vet to get them trimmed will be necessary (or you can learn to do it yourself but it is not for the faint of heart and you will need help). Since the rabbit was designed to chew, they find a lot of comfort in this. They also find a lot of comfort in foraging and digging. Providing toys and stimulation for them in these activities is important to a happy bunny. hiding fruit treats in boxes of hay will be a lot of fun.

There are a lot of commercial products out there for rabbits. You need to be aware that not all of them have the rabbit's best interest at heart.; Cages with wire floors are nice for humans because pellets fall out and are easier to collect, but are hard on soft delicate bunny feet. Food with seeds and nuts and puffed colored pieces look appealing to us with our varied pallet, but most are not healthful to a bunny. Toys with soft pieces or pieces easily removed can become hazards. A lot of good products for bunnies aren't even manufactured with bunnies in mind. NIC cubes (make it yourself cube shelving) can make amazing rabbit homes.  (I had to laugh, one of the images is of kittens, and I said, why kittens?? when I looked at it, it was one of my kittens from my blog, apparently I talked about NIC cubes for rabbits before). Toys made for human babies can make great interactive toys for rabbits such as rattles and rings of keys. You can find some great toys in the oddest of places.

Rabbits are very delicate. There is not a great deal of vet care out there for them because of this. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but when a rabbit gets sick it is quite often fatal.; If you are going to own rabbits, it would be a good idea to find a vet trained in rabbits and has experience with them. Most will tell you they are trained.. and most are. Diarrhea in a rabbit can be fatal. So is a head cold. If you have a rabbit that won't eat, immediately take it to a vet. period. Do not wait, do not see if they'll eat later. Go.

Just such a thing happened to Bri.

I believe now Skippy has remitting bordatella. He has bouts where he coughs and sneezes and then he seems fine.. I thought nothing of it. He and Bri were best friends and would often be seen hanging out together. If ever I wondered where Skippy was, most of the time he was in Bri's room.

One day Bri stopped eating her pellets. Well, she ate some of them, but not much, and I was concerned, when I gave her some water she drank that. Since she wouldn't eat pellets if she didn't have water I thought that was all it was. But the next day she was covered in urine and wouldn't eat her favorite treat. I was hoping it was nothing but I ended up bringing her to the emergency clinic - where she blew a snot bubble. It was the first sign I had that she had URI.. The vet prescribed antibiotics and a few other things but by the time I got home from the hospital and filled the prescription, she was dead. As much as I would LOVE another rabbit, I won't bring one into the house while Skippy sneezes.

Anyway.. this was supposed to be about rabbits in general. Great pets. They are not cats nor dogs and need you to follow a different learning curve.; They are not disposable and they do not do well if you just 'let them outside" once you are bored or sick of taking care of them. House rabbits are not wild rabbits. They will chew your wires if you do not prevent it by removing access to them. They will chew your baseboards. They will lick your toes, do bunny flips when happy, and beg for their favorite treats in an endearing, charming, almost too cute for words sort of way.

Happy Easter - a little early

I thought about making a post for "Make mine Chocolate" on Easter, but then I thought "wouldn't that be too late?"

a baby bunny at the shelter

I really doubt anyone reading this blog would irresponsibly bring a rabbit home, but as someone who previously owned rabbits, I thought I'd share my experiences.

I have owned two rabbits and fostered a mom and her babies once. This by no means makes me an expert - I fully admit that. Tobin lived for 11 years, Bri for only a few (I believe her best friend Skippy has recurring bordatella and infected her)

Rabbits are not easy.They look easy, they read as easy. You feed hay, veggies and some pellets. You change out the litter.. sounds easy right?

But there are a lot of other things, like they chew. They chew a LOT. I have baseboards that are gnawed, I have books that are missing part of their covers, photos that have pieces missing, letters that have holes in them, and photo albums that are going in the recycling because she chewed the covers. All wires are fair game to a rabbit. All wood. Anything that will fit into their mouth is basically a chew toy - well with the exception of the items you often give them to chew. Rabbit teeth never stop growing, so they need to keep them active to wear them down. You also should check their teeth regularly to make sure they are growing straight and are not overgrown. This is NOT easy, as a rabbit is not a fan of your fingers near your mouth. Often you will get nipped.

Same with rabbit claws. Rabbits in the wild dig burrows, and the claws are very handy for that. In a home, there is little use for them. So they need to be trimmed often. Being a prey animal, they are not fans of being held in one place with out an escape, so nail trims are NOT easy. They also have long quicks, and bleed excessively when you hit one.Nail trims can be done by owners, but you need to be careful.

Because rabbits do NOT like to be restrictively held. They will kick with their strong back feet, which can be painful if you get hit. Not only that but they are so powerful that if you do not hold them properly, they can actually break their own backs.

Kit handing with foster bunnies

Rabbits and other animals can co-exist. My cats loved my rabbits (well some of my cats were a little scared of my rabbits) and enjoyed hanging out with both Tobin and Bri. I know of someone who had free roaming rabbits and dogs. They got along wonderfully for years until one day it appeared the play got a little rough, and they came home to ... well, it wasn't pretty. I also had a friend who had a free roaming (in the home) rabbit. She was well socialized, but there were issues with power cords and bunny poops.

Rabbits need to have a mobile gut. They need to have constant access to food and thus they have constant output. Fortunately, rabbit poops are small and round and hard and can be swept right up. A rabbit with gut issues is a very sick rabbit so if you find soft pellets, it needs to go to a vet. One thing though, rabbits make cecum, which comes out of the gut, but it is soft. Rabbits eat this to boost their nutritional input. Cecum is soft, but if you are seeing it, your bunny needs to go to the vet.

URI is deadly to rabbits.  Bri did not eat all of her dinner and was not excited to eat her breakfast.  I took her to the vet that day, noticed a little discharge by her nose, and she was dead within hours.  Bunnies are incredibly fragile in regards to health, and ANY sign that a rabbit is not 'right' means a trip to the vet.  Not eating, not pooping, lethargy sneezing, eye discharge, etc.  In larger animals, you can wait it out and see what happens, not so with rabbits.

Bunnies all have different personalities, like kitties, but as prey animals, they are a little harder to get to know.  My first rabbit Tobin hated carrots. He used them as hockey pucks and pushed them around his pen until I would throw them out.  Bri loved them, but she loved the greens more (Thumper's mom would be proud)  Bri used to "yell" at me if I was late getting her breakfast.  Tobin was very sensitive to getting too many pellets and fecal matter would collect on his behind. Their idea of giving love is not like those of cats and dogs, so you have to be accepting of their version of their joy to be with you.  Bunny binkys (running around and doing a kick so their body flips a little)

Rabbits also molt twice a year.  They blow their coat. and look pretty silly while it happens.  If you happen to be sensitive to rabbit fur (which is easy when it is everywhere, up your nose, in your eyes) it is not much fun.

Rabbit skin is also very thin.  Watching a few rabbit spays and talking to the vet who did them, I learned that they are very delicate, and it is more difficult to spay them than other animals.  Rabbits who are intact have to deal with raging hormones and are generally less acceptable pets.  Males become aggressive,   females get protective, and they both can become cage aggressive.

They are adorable and fun, and it is rare that I would say that someone should not get one, but you should know what you are getting into.  Not to mention in a few weeks there is going to be a TON of them on Craigslist, petfinder and at your local shelters.

There is a cute interactive bunny at Make mine Chocolate  to see if bunnies are right for you.

Tobin

Muffin and Eli meeting Tobin

Bri and Skippy

Bri with attitude

Bird toy hanging behind Bri would allow her to make noise to call attention to her

He's gone

He wasn't doing well at all this morning, so we took him for that long car ride, and had him put to sleep. I shall miss him.

Tobin photos

Last night didn't go well. he was eating fine, then shortly after we started he stopped. and he was about the same today.. so it looks like it won't be much longer for him.

bunny bites

I stayed home from work today.. the stress of being sick last week and now with Tobin being sick was just too much for me. It was a slow day at work, and I felt I deserved a day.. didn't stop me from feeling guilty, though. Anyway.. I kept a close eye on tobin.. he likes the slurry I have made up for him with pineapple, laxatone, water, and pellets, but not much else. After I feed him I clean him up - which he does not like, I put him back in his pen. He runs around for a bit, then lays down... and is usually in the exact same spot when I go back down a while later. This morning Eli was in the pen with him.. silly kitty. He's still breathing hard.. doesn't seem to be pooping as much.. his rear end was full of urine this afternoon.. not a good sign. so now I'm all covered in slurry and urine.. oh the joys of sick pets will never end.

Had to give Tobin his pill tonight.. he wasn't too thrilled to have me stick it in his mouth.. he fought it which is good.. was energy he didn't have last night.. although it will make it a bit more difficult to make sure he gets it if he won't let me do it in the morning..

TOBIN ATE!!

ok.. so he just was licking at the stuff I was forcing into his mouth, but its a MAJOR improvement into what we've been doing lately.. he ate quite a bit before he gave up. I shoved some more laxatone in him when we were done.. and now he's just leaning against his water bottle.. I have no idea why..

Visiting the kittens at the shelter

Went to the shelter today at lunch time.. I needed to cuddle a kitten. All seven were still there. I pulled Nanoo out of the cage, she got all hissy with me. I held her for half an hour and about half way through she started purring. actually purring without the help of medication!! it was great. I got back to work and a little while later K called to let me know that Triddle and Friddle were adopted together. About an hour later she called to tell me that Nanoo and Mikitu were going home together. :) she said that the new owners spent about an hour with them, and were really happy with them. YEA! I'm kinda surprised Allie is still there, she was the 'pretty' one.. along with Sushi.. who's also still there. tomorrow is a different day.

Tobin is still hanging in there. Got more baytril in him.. some pineapple juice.. and not much more. Although he did eat some clover and some yogurt chips on his own.

more about the bunny

well.. he was running around his cage.. showing agression.. but running.. so that was something. I force fed him again.. nothing went well. I put his pill in his mouth and forced a little more food in, so hopefully, he got it.. who knows..

towards the end, he started getting feisty.. wanting to run away.. so I put him back in the cage, and he ran right into the wall.. then dove in his house.. and it sounded like he hit the wall. He then did another run around the cage and went back into the house.. I'm hoping this is a good sign..

I think if he eats some more clover or yogurt chips I'll keep trying.. but if not, I think we'll call this the end. He's never ever been a social bunny, so all this attention is probably driving him insane. If I thought he was enjoying anything right now, I'd fight for him.. but I think all this is just making him miserable... then there is the thought that if I do get him through this, we'd just be waiting for the other shoe to drop.. He's basically 120 yrs old in human years..

Reading back to the last kitty post, I was looking forward to not having to feed kitties, but now I have to feed my bunny.. how ironic. I'd be glad to do it if I knew I was doing him any good.

Btw.. I stopped in on Tuesday and saw the kittens.. they were being put up for adoption yesterday for the open house the shelter was having. Poor Nanoo was so scared.. she hissed at me when I picked her up. I couldn't go see them yesterday cause of the bunny.. My girlfriend emailed me and said they were still all available, so I'll go today at lunch..

Sick bunny part 2

I just gave him his second force feeding.. the pineapple juice went well.. nothing else did.. he fought me only slightly.. and when I put him back in his cage his head was bobbing around with each breath.. then slowly rolled down on one side.. he's still breathing.. but he looks so weak and helpless..

How on earth am I supposed to go to work tomorrow...

Sick bunny....

Yes.. I have a bunny. I got him on my 21st birthday. he's an OLD bunny.. saw him today breathing hard, and noticed he hadn't had much to drink or eat.. took him into the vet, and he's got a hairball, and pneumonia.. it doesn't look good. they want me to force feed him, and I do, but most of it just falls out the other side of his mouth. He's got so little fight left in him.. I just put him back in his pen, and he fell on his side, and while he struggled, he couldn't upright himself.

as always.. the question is, when does it become better for him to put him down?

Tobin has cancer.

Tobin has cancer.. it's benign.. but its something I have to keep an eye on. At least he's enjoying the extra attention.. which in its self is kinda weird.. cause he's never been a social bunny. I seriously considered getting him a girlfriend.. the shelter has a ton of bunnies.. but none were female and overly friendly.. I don't really want to take in another anti-social bunny. yup.. I'm a little selfish that way.. But it's quite an investment with no return .. so I didn't bring one home. There is a nice boy bunny there.. a couple in fact, but I don't think Tobin would appreciate a young stud in the house..

I got some drops for Eli.. Tresaderm. After the first dose, his ears were 90% better. He needs them twice a day for two weeks. He's not going to like this one little bit cause he hates the drops, and it doesn't help that they have to be kept cold. I'm going to miss the daily ear checks.. Cause I get him to cuddle up next to me, and usually when I clean his ears he starts purring.. but its probably just cause they feel so much better without the goop in them.

I'm thinking about setting up my webcam to keep an eye on charlie (my new name for midnight the pregnant cat) I'd like to be able to keep an eye on her while I'm in the rest of the house. *looks over past blog entries* I haven't told you much about her.. I took one look at her and said wow. your black as midnight aren't you.. and I could have sworn I heard her say yes.. When I looked at her paperwork, her name was midnight. She responds very well to verbal commands.. come here, go there.. roll over.. it's freaky. She also likes the name charlie. We joked we'll name the kidlets charlies angels.. :) I took her into the vet with me when I went in with Tobin. She took an x-ray.. and there are definitely five kittens in there, there might be six. Charlie only weighed 8 lbs 3 oz.. with six kittens? she must have been a tiny cat. The vet thinks some time in the next week.. I think it might be longer. Although I do hope it is sooner.. I'm getting kitten fever.. *grin*

New fosters

I have a new cat in the house.. a Siamese looking thing that is totally black and pregnant, and yes I'm totally freaked out by the prospect.. but I figure she knows what she is doing, and I have a friend who just went through that, so I'm covered. *crosses fingers* No idea how far along she is, nor how many kitties she's got.

Sunday I found a growth on my rabbit, Tobin. He's 10 years old, so its probably not good.. He's going in to the vet tomorrow. I also did an Easter egg hunt for the kitties.. it was kinda fun. I bought some cheep plastic Easter eggs, and I put nip in a few and some treats in the rest. The kitties weren't quite sure what to do with them.. they enjoyed the nip though. I have some cute pictures.. I'll post them later.