Found Rabbit

[Kieka]

I had no desire to have a rabbit but I have acquired one. Growing up, we typically had 2 rabbits. Free range in the yard during the day, in an outdoor hutch at night. Our last one passed away 4 years ago from ovarian cancer. It was really bad towards the end. It was very hard for my Dad who was the closest to her. That last rabbit and about 50% of our rabbits before that were abandoned bunnies who we found. In all cases we did find the original owner and in all cases the rabbit was purposefully released.

Here's a sad statistic. Rabbits can live to be 10 years old, most of ours surpassed that with our last one dying at 13. Easter bunnies though? 80% of the baby bunnies given as gifts for Easter won't live a year. They get killed by poor ownership, too small cages, boredom, and lack of care in general. They get sold or given away to new owners and fed to snakes. They get let go in a park or just outside and run over by a car or killed by predators. Domestic pet rabbits are simply the wrong colors and don't have the instinct to survive.

This rabbit was found on the side of the road. I saw it at night about halfway down the street but it was too skittish. The next day on our neighborhood message board someone said the rabbit had been caught in their yard. I offered to hold it while we looked for an owner since I already have a large cage and knowledge of bunny care.

That morning I went to the pet store for food and saw a very dirty cage on the curb. My Dad went to knock on the door and ask if it was the person's rabbit. They slammed the door on his face and the cage was pulled off the curb. So we assume that they let the rabbit go. There haven't been any responses to found posters, lost posters put up, or responses to the online message board in two weeks.

We haven't decided if we are keeping the rabbit. It has a vet appointment Monday to find out gender and a pre-check to get spayed or neutered. Reproductive cancer is a huge epidemic in rabbits so whatever happens I don't want to run the risk of cancer again. Plus the only rescue in the area for rabbits only takes ones that are spayed or neutered. At minimum we will have the rabbit for the next 6 months while we wait for a space at the rescue. So I am ordering a new hutch to give it better living space and have bought supplies to last. I have a feeling though that my Dad is already getting attached.

*sigh* I don't think the rabbit is going anywhere. Sometimes I really dislike other people, especially those who just dump their pets.

 

[lavishsqualor]

What a wonderful thing to do for this poor, cast off bunny. Thank you for helping this lost little soul. His cute white fur and big thumpy feet make me feel guilty. I've been feeding my two cats rabbit for quite some time and they are totally addicted to it.

I never knew there was such a big difference between the white and brown rabbits.

Thank you again for what you're doing for this beautiful bunny.

 

[rubysmama]

Awwww.... what a precious little bunny. Love the ears.

So sad that people dump cats, and bunnies, to fend for themselves. This little guy is lucky he's been rescued by a family that both love bunnies and have experience raising them. He looks pretty happy, already.

So if you let them out of their cage, they will stick around the yard and not run, er hop, away?

 

[Kieka]

lavishsqualor My guys eat rabbit too. So far one cat has stolen rabbit pellets as a snack, one cat likes to chase the rabbit from outside its area and one cat runs when the rabbit comes to investigate her. Don't worry about the chasing, the rabbit has fun with it. When the rabbit is really scared it runs into the small cage where it huddles in a corner (dog barks trigger that behavior) but when being chased by Link it runs within the area until tired then lays next to the bars and let's Link pat it. None of these cats have been around rabbits but tag was a favorite game with past cats and rabbits.

rubysmama Our whole yard is fenced in. Since we had rabbits for 20+ years all the edges have buried concrete or brick making them very difficult to dig out of. Our first rabbits were 100% free range but after a fox took one we started hutching at night. Past rabbits were trained to go in at dusk and locked in for the night. But at that time my Mom was working and all plants were nibbled to bunny height. Since our last one passed away the plants have been rearranged and my Mom retired so she's spent more time on the yard. This bunny will get a hutch and a pet fence around it for daytime activity. We'll close it up at night. Until we get the hutch set up it is a small cage at night and the fenced area during the day (about 30 square feet). The best situation for rabbits is the house but we have a little too much wood based furniture and don't really like keeping them indoors (smell and allergies and way to many chewed electrical cords). The few times we've had rabbits get out of the yard they don't go far, a couple times we would find them coming back in for the night out of habit. Luckily, that didn't happen much. Usually only when friends visited or something was delivered.

 

[abyeb]

Aww! That rabbit is so cute! Thank you for saving her! I love those big ears and fluffy little tail!

Please do continue to post updates! Have you decided on a name yet?

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

Aww! That rabbit is so cute! Thank you for saving her! I love those big ears and fluffy little tail!

Please do continue to post updates! Have you decided on a name yet?

abyeb - With Link and Rocket in the Family, Kieka almost has to name the bunny, "Snowshoe."


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[Kieka]

abyeb My niece is campaigning for Snowdrop, Snowflake or Daisy. But this bunny has a little too much rabbitude for such fluffy names. It is a really smart one. Already doesn't potty in the cage, has figured out cage at night and likes to rearrange the twigs in its area into piles. I've been nudged out of its area if it thinks I am coming in too early to put it in. If it's a girl I like Alice (Alice in Wonderland) and nothing really striking me for a boy. We'll give it some time though before settling on anything. Open to suggestions

We are going to put it on the waiting list for a spot in the rabbit rescue. But that is a minimum 6 month waiting list once it is fixed so I doubt we will follow through at that point.

 

[Kieka]

abyeb - With Link and Rocket in the Family, Kieka almost has to name the bunny, "Snowshoe."


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Oh my goodness.

That would be a good one.

 

[rubysmama]

I really don't know anything about rabbits, but from your post, it sounds like they are very intelligent and have unique personalities. You're lucky you live in a warm climate where they can stay outside all year. Here in Canada, I think, that would be a problem for pet bunnies. Wild ones, obviously, survive winters. Keep us updated with bunny tales.

 

[Kieka]

I really don't know anything about rabbits, but from your post, it sounds like they are very intelligent and have unique personalities. You're lucky you live in a warm climate where they can stay outside all year. Here in Canada, I think, that would be a problem for pet bunnies. Wild ones, obviously, survive winters. Keep us updated with bunny tales.

Rabbits, in my experience, can either be super mellow and relaxed or little bundles of attitude. This one is falling in the category of attitude which makes me think it will turn out to be a female. All my females have been very bossy and exacting about how things should be. We had one who would grab empty plant pots while my Mom was working in the yard and toss them all over the place. That one also liked helping with the digging and investigating any holes before plants were put in them. The males we've had are usually a lot more happy go lucky and just roll with whatever. But since we typically had a male (neutered) and female bonded pair it could have just been the dynamics of the pair.

 

[Kieka]

It's a boy! Which means only $250 for the neuter . Rabbits are considered exotic animals and high risk for surgery (they are super sensitive to medications and anesthesia). Like with cats, a neuter in a rabbit is more for behavior than cancer. Although reproductive cancers are still an issue and prevented; they are less of a factor/risk for males. Behavior wise though it will eliminate spraying and territorial aggression. Since I really don't want a bunny verses cat smack-down over territory in the backyard it's worth the cost now to avoid possible vet bills later. And no, its not just damage from cat to rabbit that is worrying. Yes, rabbits can cause some serious damage to other critters when they decide to. We had two females get in a fight once and the bite wounds are deeper and larger than you would expect.

Any name suggestions for a boy?

 

[nansiludie]

Arthur? He is a very handsome fellow.

 

[rubysmama]

The only male name that came to my mind was Roger. Real original, eh.

 

[abyeb]

I like 1CatOverTheLine's suggestion of Snowshoe. I think it works for a boy rabbit too.

 

[mama africa]

Any name suggestions for a boy?

Rataplan : 'the sound made by beating a drum'; male rabbits tend to drum with their back feet

 

[Kieka]

Arthur? He is a very handsome fellow.

Arthur is my Dads name

The only male name that came to my mind was Roger. Real original, eh.

Roger is my Uncles name

I like 1CatOverTheLine's suggestion of Snowshoe. I think it works for a boy rabbit too.

I got the blank stare of death look at that one from half the family. Followed by a Snowdrop isn't much different pout from my niece.

Rataplan : 'the sound made by beating a drum'; male rabbits tend to drum with their back feet

He does like to stomp around to express displeasure of being back in the cage at the end of the day.

 

[abyeb]

How about Marshmellow?

 

[Kieka]

How about Marshmellow?

Oh! Ghostbuster.... stay puft man..... Yeah that's how my brain works.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
Kieka - why not, "Tenniel," since John Tenniel was the original illustrator of Alice's White Rabbit? It's sufficiently allusive to be a conversation starter, and sly enough to make those who "get it" smile.
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[weebeasties]

When I was a kid I read "Watership Down". That has tons of names to choose from.