The rabbit.
My mum has this one brother whose family is....kind of dysfunctional. To put it mildly. I won't go into detail here because you know, it's not really my place, but suffice it to say there are several generations of adults and children in and out of the picture, none of whom should be responsible for caring for anything. There was also a rabbit.
This rabbit was clearly not being cared for. Basically it was in a crowded little cage all the time, water and food supplies unreliable, hygiene questionable, stimulation nil. So after much nagging and questioning and them saying 'take the thing' before a second cousin of mine whom we shall refer to as Brat 1 bursts into manipulative ears and demands his rabbit stay despite the fact he doesn't take care for it...my mum sort of took it.
I mean, it wasn't theft, as apparently my first cousin told her to take it whilst Brat 1 was at school. So now there is a rabbit in the workshop of my mum's back garden. His or her situation is much improved, as s/he is clean, fed, watered, properly housed and has been given toys etc. He or she has been taken out a few times to explore the floor of the workshop, but still needs more exercise.
We have never had a rabbit before. I'm pretty sure we're going to take it to a rabbit rescue place next week, but for now we're sort of looking at the thing and wondering things like
- what do rabbits like?
- is this rabbit a boy or a girl?
- is it healthy?
- is it happy?
- do rabbits have concepts such as happiness?
I have to say, considering his/her lot in life so far, he/she is looking remarkably well. I do not have a camera with me at the moment, but it looks rather like this rabbit:
http://etc.usf.edu/clippix/picture/black-and-white-rabbit-2.html
I don't know what the signs of a healthy rabbit are, but it is bright-eyed, alert and perky, which seems good. It also seems quite - well, bold, as rabbits go. I suspect it is young as its head looks rather large for its body. It is quite curious and allows my mum to stroke it.
Which brings me to the following:
I strongly suspect my mum is going to keep this rabbit.
She's already talking about having some mesh put on the bottom of the decking and a cover so it can be left out there. Moreover, it has a name: Bobby. Or Bobbi. Is there any simple way to tell the sex of a rabbit, apart from picking it up and turning it over. We don't want to traumatize it at this point.
This brings my mother's total menagerie to four dogs, one strayish outdoor cat whom she feeds and shelters, miscellaneous birds, and one rabbit.
This rabbit was clearly not being cared for. Basically it was in a crowded little cage all the time, water and food supplies unreliable, hygiene questionable, stimulation nil. So after much nagging and questioning and them saying 'take the thing' before a second cousin of mine whom we shall refer to as Brat 1 bursts into manipulative ears and demands his rabbit stay despite the fact he doesn't take care for it...my mum sort of took it.
I mean, it wasn't theft, as apparently my first cousin told her to take it whilst Brat 1 was at school. So now there is a rabbit in the workshop of my mum's back garden. His or her situation is much improved, as s/he is clean, fed, watered, properly housed and has been given toys etc. He or she has been taken out a few times to explore the floor of the workshop, but still needs more exercise.
We have never had a rabbit before. I'm pretty sure we're going to take it to a rabbit rescue place next week, but for now we're sort of looking at the thing and wondering things like
- what do rabbits like?
- is this rabbit a boy or a girl?
- is it healthy?
- is it happy?
- do rabbits have concepts such as happiness?
I have to say, considering his/her lot in life so far, he/she is looking remarkably well. I do not have a camera with me at the moment, but it looks rather like this rabbit:
http://etc.usf.edu/clippix/picture/black-and-white-rabbit-2.html
I don't know what the signs of a healthy rabbit are, but it is bright-eyed, alert and perky, which seems good. It also seems quite - well, bold, as rabbits go. I suspect it is young as its head looks rather large for its body. It is quite curious and allows my mum to stroke it.
Which brings me to the following:
I strongly suspect my mum is going to keep this rabbit.
She's already talking about having some mesh put on the bottom of the decking and a cover so it can be left out there. Moreover, it has a name: Bobby. Or Bobbi. Is there any simple way to tell the sex of a rabbit, apart from picking it up and turning it over. We don't want to traumatize it at this point.
This brings my mother's total menagerie to four dogs, one strayish outdoor cat whom she feeds and shelters, miscellaneous birds, and one rabbit.