The Life and Times of Bunnies

  • It’s International Rabbit Day; Give Us Some Treats

    Today is International Rabbit Day. Wait, isn’t every day “rabbit day” around here?

    And does this mean we get more treats today?

    any treats hereAre there any treats over here?

    hi dad, where are the treatsHey, dad… where are my treats? Don’t you know what day it is?

    why aren't you giving me treatsNo treats? I’m… very disappointed in you, dad.

    are these shoes treatsLook at poor Betsy, dad. She wants a treat. Won’t you give her (and me) one? I think it’d be in your best interest. If Betsy doesn’t get a treat, she might start hungerly eyeing mum’s shoes, if you know what I mean…

    no treatsC’mon dad, how can you say no to us?

    I'm over youOh, now you’ve done it. Betsy says “I’m over you, dad.” You’ve been snubbed.

    I’ll tell you what, dad… it’s a whole day event here. There had better be some more treats for us by the end of the day. That’s all I’m saying.

    Happy International Rabbit Day to everyone else…

    -Gus

  • Morning Excursions

    Despite evidence to the contrary, we do not just sleep all day. We actually do get up and move around… especially when it’s time for dad to feed us.

    dual sniffing It’s important to sniff everywhere to look for potentially dropped treats. (Gus needs to learn there are no treats by my backside!)

    more sniffingAre there any treats here?

    betsy realizes she's being watchedBunny sense… tingling!

    where are the treatsOh, dad, it’s just you, taking pictures.

    stop taking pictures and feed meStop taking pictures, dad, and feed me!

    See? We’re very active. Now it’s time to go eat and then take a nap.

    -Betsy

  • Not Lazy

    Sometimes dad says we are lazy, and that we just lounge around and sleep all day.

    side by side floppageside-by-side floppageside by side floppage (closeup) I don’t know what he’s talking about.

    -Betsy

  • Parallel Floppage

    It’s important to keep an eye on dad these days – you never know when he might come to pick one of us (probably me) up. So Gus and I take turns being the “lookout.”

    parallel floppage

    I’m watching you, dad.

    Don’t get too comfy, Gus. Your turn is next!

    -Betsy

  • A Litterbox for Two

    Dad cleaned our litter box today – and you know what that means, right? Clean litter box day!!

    Too bad Betsy got in there before me…

    betsy and gus - sharing the litter box …ah well. There’s plenty of room for us both, and a clean litter box is best when shared, right?

    Now, move over a bit, Betsy!

    -Gus

  • You’re still not off the hook, dad

    Dad gets an order of coffee every few weeks, and when he does, he often gives us the box it came in to play with.

    betsy in the coffee box I’m enjoying this box, but don’t think for a second that it gets you off of my revenge list, dad!

    -Betsy

  • You don’t mind if I eat your laptop, do you?

    Hey mum, you don’t need this silly laptop, do you?

    betsy examining laptop I didn’t think so.

    betsy examines laptop *CHOMP*

    Hmmm, that doesn’t taste very good, and I really can’t sink my teeth into it… stupid hard pastic.

    I guess I’ll just lick it a bit. We’ll say I’m “cleaning” it. Yeah, that works.

    You’re welcome, mum.

    -Betsy

  • I Will Have My Revenge

    Thank you everyone for wishing me well. I am (mostly) feeling better now, although I am still furious about the way I’ve been treated.

    betsy (and gus) under the big round chair (closeup) Fortunately, I have already started on my plan for revenge.

    For starters, I have taken some big chomps out of some of mum’s favorite (and most expensive) shoes. That’ll teach her to participate in bunny torture (a.k.a., critical care syringe feeding)!!

    This revenge is particularly effective because I haven’t touched any of mum’s shoes in years, so she wasn’t expecting it. Kind of like how I wasn’t expecting being taken to the vet and put under anesthesia to have something cut out of the side of my face! Or how I wasn’t expecting to be force fed critical care 3 times a day for over a week!

    My revenge on dad will be a little bit more difficult – he is very careful about keeping his things out of our reach. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but here are some things I might do:

    • Some of dad’s DVDs are just barely reachable if I stand on my hind legs – I’m sure he’d love it if I pulled a few down and chomped on them.
    • Dad gets really excited when I go to the bedroom door and scratch against it.
    • Although he is very good at bunny-proofing cords, I’m sure I can find a way to get access to at least one power cord or other type of cable that he didn’t sufficiently bunny-proof.
    • The pillows and cushions on the couch are a ripe target, and I haven’t been up there for a while. Dad can’t protect them either, because then he wouldn’t be able to sit there!
    • When dad picks me up (which he is still doing every other day, to give me subcutaneous antibiotic injections), I could squirm and kick – I used to do this long, long, long ago, when I first came to live with mum and dad, and my back claws left some very nice scratches on dad’s arms.

    Those are just some ideas, and I’m still thinking of the best way to enact my revenge on dad. One thing you can be sure of though – it’ll come when he least expects it!

    I will have my revenge!!

    -Betsy

     

  • Houston, We Have Poopage!

    Betsy doesn’t want to make a fuss out of it, but mum and dad were so excited when they saw this in her litter box this morning:

    For those without super-bunny-vision, those black dots are poops. Betsy’s poops.

    Betsy also ate a good portion of her dinner last night, so she didn’t get force fed last night, and I think she might even avoid it this morning as well. This is good, because dad’s been trying every trick in the book – apple & banana critical care (spoiler: it doesn’t really taste like apples or bananas), mushed up banana & water, tummy rubs, papaya tablets, and more.

    As I said, mum and dad were all excited (and relieved) about all this. I don’t know what the big deal is – I eat and poop all the time!

    Also, don’t tell Betsy, but I overheard dad on the phone with the VET yesterday… I think she has a follow-up appointment tomorrow. But maybe since she’s pooping now she can avoid going to the vet… but we’ll see. (I think she still needs antibiotic injections.) Still, at least she won’t be spending the night there or anything – not great, but not as bad as it could be, right?

    …OK, actually I’m just really relieved that it’s not ME that’s going to the vet. But can you blame me??

    -Gus

  • Girl Bunnies Don’t Poop?

    Betsy is trying to claim that “girl bunnies don’t poop.” As you might expect, mum and dad don’t believe a word she says, and they keep encouraging her to poop (and eat).

    For the past week, dad has locked Betsy up in our area at night, while keeping me out. While this does mean that I get free run of the whole house (including the bedroom!) at night, somehow I can’t bring myself to get too excited over it.

    Naturally, Betsy is not pleased at all about this situation – especially the “being picked up and syringe fed 3 times a day” bit. But dad and mum are keeping it up, and Betsy is keeping up the disapproval.

    betsy - pissed off after a syringe feeding Betsy appreciates all the good wishes we’ve gotten, although I think she would appreciate not being picked up and syringe-fed more. (Dad of course is a big softie and gets all choked up every time someone wishes Betsy well in the comments.)

    Dad promised her that he’d stop force-feeding her if she starts eating and pooping on her own, but so far the most she’s done is just nibbled some parsley here and there.

    As for the pooping thing, dad says I am not helping by using Betsy’s litterbox every chance I get and confounding his attempts to see if she’s pooped yet… but it’s my litterbox, too! That spare one he set up outside our area just isn’t the same!

    I’m sure Betsy will give in to dad’s demands eventually… somehow, he always wins. Must be something about being 10 times our size…

    -Gus