He is a very good companion for Dana when I'm not around and gets her to take walks. Plus he's just very lovable and a very smart boy!
I'm still a cat person by nature, but Shi and I get our time together and Gus and I have our time together and it's all good.
The rabbit joined the family several years before I did, and Gus and I are her least favorite household members. Rabbits are finicky pets, and I've got to say I love her softness and her cuteness but have put my foot down about any more rabbits after she goes to rabbit heaven.
She never got litterbox trained (and yes, we tried), which is one of my big issues with her. She poops and pees at will when roaming the house, chews furniture, and shreds fabric to get at stuffing. She bites and scratches when she feels afraid (and was actually the alpha animal in the house before Gus came. she's terrified of him, understandably). She more or less got to roam free in one room of our Seattle apt (I lost that battle), and I am appalled at the condition we left the carpet in, even though we tried to spot clean all stains and had the carpet cleaned when we were moving out.
Now that I've built her a pen, I like her a lot more. I'll try to take some photos.
It's hard to find a landlord that's ok with rabbits because many have had bad experiences with them. Our current landlord is awesome and I feel a real obligation not to let her down. We promised that MaryJane would stay in her pen all the time, and I clean the pen several times a week.
Anyway, I don't want to dissuade you from a bunny. Certainly there are lots of them that need safe, loving homes and people that will let them act the way are. I just recommend 1. a pen, and 2. fixing your rabbit even if there are no other rabbits around to make little rabbits.
One very interesting thing I learned in a wildlife ecology class was that cute lil bunnies don't have the most efficient digestive systems, so they actually eat their poo to glean any remaining nutrition from it. Tasty!
Oh, I also want to say cute Ninian photo! I'm sure you miss him lots. Did you name him after St. Ninian, Bishop of Galloway?
Thanks for the warnings about bunnies. I actually had one when I was little (got him for my 6th birthday), but I didn't have that much of a hand in his care, so there's a lot I don't know or have forgotten. Fuzzytail was a very nice bunny, but he ended up having free reign over our basement and, yes, pooping everywhere. He was never aggressive toward us, but I remember once he attached himself to the pant leg of a deliveryman who had the audacity to enter the cellar. He actually got along very well with our first Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, Chief; I have memories of them eating their dinners side by side. But when, after a couple of years, we had to temporarily house him upstairs while the basement wall was being repaired, he couldn't handle the sudden captivity and abruptly died.
So, yes, if we ever decide to get a rabbit again, we'll definitely do a lot of research first and use a pen from the beginning.
I do miss Ninian so much! Yes, he was named after St. Ninian -- but I wouldn't have thought of that name if I hadn't been doing tons of genealogy research at that time and come across ancestors (many generations back) who were born in Scotland and named after St. Ninian.
Me loves me doggie!
He is a very good companion for Dana when I'm not around and gets her to take walks. Plus he's just very lovable and a very smart boy!
I'm still a cat person by nature, but Shi and I get our time together and Gus and I have our time together and it's all good.
The rabbit joined the family several years before I did, and Gus and I are her least favorite household members. Rabbits are finicky pets, and I've got to say I love her softness and her cuteness but have put my foot down about any more rabbits after she goes to rabbit heaven.
She never got litterbox trained (and yes, we tried), which is one of my big issues with her. She poops and pees at will when roaming the house, chews furniture, and shreds fabric to get at stuffing. She bites and scratches when she feels afraid (and was actually the alpha animal in the house before Gus came. she's terrified of him, understandably). She more or less got to roam free in one room of our Seattle apt (I lost that battle), and I am appalled at the condition we left the carpet in, even though we tried to spot clean all stains and had the carpet cleaned when we were moving out.
Now that I've built her a pen, I like her a lot more. I'll try to take some photos.
It's hard to find a landlord that's ok with rabbits because many have had bad experiences with them. Our current landlord is awesome and I feel a real obligation not to let her down. We promised that MaryJane would stay in her pen all the time, and I clean the pen several times a week.
Anyway, I don't want to dissuade you from a bunny. Certainly there are lots of them that need safe, loving homes and people that will let them act the way are. I just recommend 1. a pen, and 2. fixing your rabbit even if there are no other rabbits around to make little rabbits.
One very interesting thing I learned in a wildlife ecology class was that cute lil bunnies don't have the most efficient digestive systems, so they actually eat their poo to glean any remaining nutrition from it. Tasty!
Oh, I also want to say cute Ninian photo! I'm sure you miss him lots. Did you name him after St. Ninian, Bishop of Galloway?
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So, yes, if we ever decide to get a rabbit again, we'll definitely do a lot of research first and use a pen from the beginning.
I do miss Ninian so much! Yes, he was named after St. Ninian -- but I wouldn't have thought of that name if I hadn't been doing tons of genealogy research at that time and come across ancestors (many generations back) who were born in Scotland and named after St. Ninian.
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