Christmas Castle

Oh oh oh! I know what this is! Santa brought me a new castle! I had a castle for the last four years. When I got sick recently it had to go, along with most of my other porous toys. (They told me that I would reinfect myself on things like wood and cardboard.) I missed my castle so much. I eat my salad in it, watch TV in it, look down on Kitty from it, and have a better view of just about everything. I'm sure this is a new one! I can smell it!


First we take out the windows...

Then we carefully fold it up:

Can we speed this up any?

It smells delightful!

The heart window is my favorite window.

Kitty likes to watch me play in my castle. Occassionally, she tries to come in. One time I had to jump from the top as she came up the stairs!

It's very dark in here.

At last I can see everything that's going on. I see you Kitty! This is the best Christmas ever!

Now I have to "chin" every part of this castle to claim it as my own. I have scent glands under my chin and after I "chin" things they smell like me. I'm chinning every bump on top of this castle and all of the corners and openings.

Thank you Granny Kay! Merry Christmas!

Teeth Troubles

I'm a very tiny bunny. I'm actually a dwarf, a Netherland Dwarf. It's unfortunate that people like to breed animals smaller and smaller because they are cute. I'm cute alright, but my mouth is too small for my teeth! Ouch! The vet says that very small bunnies and very large bunnies often have teeth problems. That's what happens when animals are bred to the extreme! There are always health and/or personality issues.

My back teeth grow three to five millimeters a week! I have to eat hay just about constantly to keep them worn down. If I don't, then "points" grow; points are like little thorns that grow on my teeth inward toward my tongue, scratch my tongue, and then it hurts to eat, so I eat less, and then my teeth and the points grow more. When I quit eating I have to be force-fed - an event that is not enjoyed by anyone.

However, there are some things we've learned about force-feeding. Number one is patience. I can't eat it all at once! Just a dab at a time and then a little rub on my cheek will get me to lick and swallow. We make up this paste from a powder we got from the vet - it's ground up hay with vitamins and minerals. I lie on my back and the syringe comes in from the side - don't squirt it straight down my goozle or I'll choke! Come in from the side just behind my teeth and about the middle of my tongue - if you put it on the front of my tongue I'll spit it out. Take your time, talk to me, rub my cheek, and don't give me too much at once.

Bunnies can kick so hard that they will break their back; whenever you hold a bunny make sure that you hold her rump so that her back is curled a little bit and she can't kick it out of whack. Notice how my back is firmly supported and my feet are in position where I can't kick.

"I really don't think this is a good time for pictures! You are so dead when I'm done here."



"I'd better get to washin'!"



The vet also x-rayed my mouth. I had one tooth that had an infected root; it had to be extracted. My mouth is so small that my jaw gets really sore after teeth operations, so we force-fed morning and night until my teeth quit hurting so bad. But even after that my teeth are growing too fast and I have to go in and get them trimmed about every 6 weeks! ACK! We are desperate for a solution! The vet said that we should try Orchard Grass since it's coarser than Timothy Hay, and that I should eat veges with lots of silica, such as mustard greens, radish tops, and kale. I was also getting too much salad - and filling up on that rather than hay. It's imperative that I eat lots and lots of hay, day and night. For my size, I should get one salad a day that will fit in your hand and just one little carrot - carrots are high in carbs and are like treats to bunnies!

My teeth hurt for a long time before we found a vet that identified the problem: Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital in Bothell, WA. Now that I'm not in pain I'm a whole lot nicer! And now I love to be petted! I love to have my ears rubbed, and I especially love to have my jaws massaged. I'm told it's very nice not to have to explain the unusual bunny-teeth-shaped markings when getting a mammogram.

If you are looking for a bunny vet make sure you get one that will pry open the bunny's mouth (with a tool) and look at her back teeth! We wish we had found Avian & Exotics years ago. They are the best! And we are very, very grateful. Thank you Dr. Ferguson, Dr. Maas and the most excellent staff!

Favorite Blanket

Years ago we bought this blanket at Costco. Everyone loves it. It's the most wonderful blanket in the world. That's just a fact. Everyone will do whatever is necessary to curl up on this blanket. It was made specifically for Costco and they don't sell it anymore. It has down in it and it is absolutely wonderful. The minute it comes out we all race for it. I like to get on it and jump and jump and jump. Kitty has the blanket now. If Aunt Belle comes visiting she'll want to sleep on this blanket. It's like a magnet! (Are you listening Phoenix Down?) Will you share the blanket, sweetest Kitty? (Sometimes she'll share and sometimes she'll take a swipe at me. I pity you and your fickle mind, Kitty.)

Bad Hare Day

This is the birthday card my Granny sent me:

"Be as bad as you want on your Birthday!"

Bunnies Need Boundaries

When I first came to this burrow I was very sick so I didn't go on reconnaissance missions. As I felt better I ventured further from this large room where we watch TVevery night. No one paid much attention as I quickly sneaked past legs and into other rooms. If you hear a door latch, you must always run in that direction and try to sneak in unnoticed. I've been able to spend nights locked away in various rooms. There is always so much to do! As time went by some of my investigations of air mattresses, baseboards, bed slats (the absolute best, especially if old) and electrical wiring became noticed. Next thing I know we have a foldable wire fence that can be rearranged to keep me in or out of just about anything. Pfffft. That will not do! I will not tolerate it. Once a free-range bunny, always a free-range bunny. So now we have a game: "Let's Get Sweeeeeet Bunny in Her Bed Tonight."

It's best to start a bunny out with boundaries so that we can feel the sweet taste of freedom each day; I get used to it and then I have to find something else to entertain me. I recently found this room especially fun - and just when I'm in the midst of bliss they come in to play our other game: "BunNY! GET OUT!" That game always gets a tail wag.

Cabin Getaway

I rather enjoy going to the cabin. Everything is different there, but I especially like the dry and grassy smell. It took a lot for me to get comfortable here. My favorite place is my camper that I'm sitting in below. My camper is the large-medium version (there are 2 mediums) of the Petmate line of campers. This one is just perfect for me. I can stretch all the way out and when I sit up my ears don't touch the top. It has a moat around the bottom - so with litter in the back, all of that stuff stays back there and doesn't get into my hay or on my fleece blanket.

We worked long and hard on the perfect camper for me: we tried little litterboxes, towels, smaller campers, but this is the best! Just scoop the litter each day or twice a day on long rides and it's clean as a whisker. When I go to the doc, the top comes off and there I am, ready to see what's going on. I do *not* like it when people stick their fingers in my cage and I will nip at them at best, but with the top off, I'm perfectly at ease. The docs see my cute face and they forget to do anything else but pet me! Kim says that it's a very expensive petting session.

You can see my litterbox in the corner - a dishpan makes a terrific litterbox! There's natural grass pellets (litter) in the back side (I like to back up to corners to pee) and there's hay in the front; eating and peeing sort of go together because if I pee on the hay it grows better. And my droppings help too!

It's very bright in this room in the daytime so I have a shelter over my litterbox and another shelter that's a tent made out of unpeeled willow sticks. You can see a couple of peeled willow balls over there - I don't like the peeled ones nearly as well as unpeeled. I have a tube of willow sticks and behind that my new favorite plush house (they bought it for Kitty, but she's too fat for it).

There's my bowl of pellets on my blanket. I have blankets all around and a chair so that I can watch TV and look out the window. I like to have a pillow below the chair for jumping off - my little legs are so frail and easily broken; I feel much more secure jumping onto a pillow. (I once lived with a bunny that broke its leg; of course, I had nothing at all to do with it.) Here's what I see from my chair:


Fleece blankets are safer than terry towels because fleece doesn't have any strings that I could choke on if I accidentally swallowed some of the blanket. However, if I'm happy and content I don't chew up my things! I know exactly which things are for chewing and I only chew them. Many bunnies of lesser intelligence chew up their cardboard rooms and castles - I only chew my sticks and hay!

Vacation!

We're off to the Methow Valley! I love to ride in the car.

In fact, I met a bunny named Sapper at the vet the other day. She said that another bunny moved into her home and they didn't like each other much. But one day they both went for a ride in a box in a car together and they had the time of their lives! At first they clung to each other in fear, but then they learned to enjoy it and now they're best friends. What a great way to become friends!

This is me in my camper - I can camp for weeks in it. It has litter (Country Critter plant fiber pellets) in the back, hay on one side, and a soft, fleece blanket on the other. I always pee in the back. I've got my fleece a little messed up here, but Kim will straighten it out in a bit. There is also a food and water dish in the top of my camper and I get water at stops.



We headed out a little late in the season so we had a lot of rain most of the way. Washington Pass looked particularly spooky. It's 51 here at the pass in August:



But as we crossed the pass and headed down the other side it was beautiful! After 5 hours of driving in the rain, the Methow Valley looks like heaven. I have a field of Timothy Hay over there that I love to play in.



The last part of the trip is on a very rough dirt road and it kinda makes me queasy:



What a relief to arrive and get in my easy chair with a big salad. I like to ride in the car, but 5 hours is about the limit!

My Kitty

Kitty behaves pretty well now and I'll agree to let her on the floor and sometimes on the bed, but it's taken three years to teach her where her place is! And that she has her own hay and is not to eat mine! (She loves to eat hay.)

Another Birthday

I'm the official present-opener around here. I just do it best!

Well that was a GPS. BORING! I know my routes! The one I really like is the new bathrobe... it's so very soft...


I love it when it squishes me. It makes me drool.

Happy Birthday, Charlie!

Grandpa Bud

Grandpa Bud came to visit me in June. We went to the cabin and watched TV and ate salad on the couch.


Back home Mac often takes Grandpa outside...

Birdwatching

I'm pretending I don't see Kitty watching me. What is it that she likes about this birdbath? I see nothing interesting at all! Yet she will watch it for hours... her brain is so small.

I wish I had my topcoat on today - it's quite chilly. I think we reached 64! Oh the dog days of summer!

Did you make your bed today?

Electrified

Lightning struck a tree very close to our house the other day. BOOOM!! It was the loudest sound I'd ever heard! I was terrified! Stuff fell off the walls. I thought the sky was falling! I ran up the stairs and under the bed. I thumped and thumped for about half an hour before I would believe my staff's reassuring "It's OK, Bunny."

Anyhow, the stereo was fried. I absolutely love music! I especially love classical, but my tastes vary quite a bit. (If I don't like the music I turn my ears away from the speaker.) So I set about tinkering for most of the day until I got it fixed. I love to tinker! And I especially love the feel of the rubber handles in my teeth. Mmmm. You can pretty much tell how much I like the handles if you get a close look at them. I'm not sure my skills are totally appreciated around here.

Braised Rabbit?

I love roasting by the fire. The more I lie by the fire, the more I shed, and the more I need to lie by the fire!

Sledding Fun

At Christmas I went sledding in the Methow Valley. Weeeeee!

It was a blast until...

I'm glad I wasn't on that ride!