Bunny Tales

This is Norman. He was our bunny for 5 years which is about the average lifespan for a rabbit. My daughter named him for the Norman Bates character in "Psycho" but Norm was much nicer! I hope if anyone got a bunny for Easter you've done some homework on how to take care of one! We learned 'on the job' after buying Norman on impulse. We always picked up a bunny to pet at the pet store and after our Min Schnauzer died, we were weak and needing something to cuddle!

After we got him home, I thought--now what?! We got a cardboard box--a deep one--and I thought we were set for the time being! He was so small, surely he couldn't get out! HA That's why I was surprised to wake up and see him slinking by the bed! I scooped him up and found something--seems like it was a sweater dryer-- to put over said box! heh Next, I found something to hold that down! He was very agile! Very soon I went to a pet store and bought a metal cage that was $100--on sale!

Rabbits can be litter trained but it doesn't work too well when you have a kitten! I also thought they might become friends but that wasn't happening either! Everything was fine until Norman started moving, then the predator mode seemed to take over. My daughter played with him everyday and he seemed to show his attraction to her by doing circles around her and he liked to lick her but she would soon get tired of that!

Guess who got to clean out his cage! I didn't mind it too much. heh The fun times were letting him out and closing as many doors as we could so we wouldn't have to look everywhere for him! He would run down the hall and bounce about three feet in the air now and then, usually with the kitten hot on his heels! He learned to go back in his cage when I got the broom and told him to get in. He resisted, at first, but eventually went in!

It was fun to watch him pull his ears down and clean them like a cat and show his teeth when he yawned. He looked like crushed velvet because he was a Rex and his hair grew a particular way. We had to be careful when we picked him up so he felt supported, otherwise you can get a nasty scratch. Found that out the hard way! The best food for bunnies is alfalfa cubes and pellet type that you can buy at almost any store. They need to have water available and something to chew on so their teeth don't get too long. Also, wire or metal is hard on the feet. They also will chew on electrical wire--Norm chewed on our telephone wire even though we thought we were watching him!

I saw someone on PBS who had an entire room devoted to bunnies and she said she gave hers bananas--not carrots--bananas! Lettuce and carrots contain too much water and can give them diarrhea and kill them. From then on, whenever I sliced a banana, I gave Norm a couple of pieces first! After he died, I thought about him for the longest time anytime I sliced a banana!

As much fun as Norman was, I think we've decide unless we can have one outside safely, we don't want another one in a cage! And please don't think you can just turn him loose if things don't work out! That isn't really fair and is basically a death sentence for the bunny!