Yesterday I lost my twelve-year-old bunny.
The ex got her for my birthday all those years ago, when she was four months old. She hated me pretty much from day one.
“Skyla, you’re a crazy cat lady! All animals love you!”
No, not this one.
I spent years reading up on rabbit behavior trying to get her to like me. Eventually she reached the point where she’d take a treat from me, but that was it. She was territorial and stomped when I came near her, and often growled and tried to bite if I had my hand in the cage to clean it for any reason. And really, it was JUST me. She responded well to other humans and all other animals.
Maybe it’s because originally we thought she was a boy and she didn’t like this.
The pet store said she was male and as she wouldn’t let me check, I assumed they were correct (they weren’t). Initially I wanted a bunny named Othello but once I got her, it became apparent that wasn’t her name. I went with Caboose from Red vs Blue, because he is one of the greatest characters ever, and I found myself calling “Caboose!” with an exasperated sigh every time she thumped at me. (Plus I was pretty sure she’d kill me with a tank if she got the chance.)
While she hated me, she LOVED the cats.
When she was little, I had a young cat who used to play with her all the time. They’d chase each other around a chair in the living room and when Caboose went back in her cage, she’d lie against the side of it and Malory would lie on the other side so they’d be back to back. Now, even in her later years, her BFF was my kitty the Doombuggy, who would curl up in the cage with her all the time.
Even as a senior, when you’d think she’d be mellow, she never grew to like me very well, but she tolerated my presence as long as I gave her strawberry yogurt treats (and god help me if I didn’t). She was crotchety and tolerated no bullshit; if the cats got playing around her cage, she’d thump at them as if banging her cane on the floor to say “GET OFF MY LAWN.” Basically, she is what I plan to be when I’m an old lady.
The most Caboose-like moment I will ever remember is from several years ago.
It was summer and we lived in a townhouse with a small fenced-in backyard. I let Caboose out to play in the grass, and Sophie and the kitties were out as well. My ex had a young (not quite a year old) kitty who was a barn cat and an absolutely little terror.
The grass was long and I watched the kitten stalking through it, body low to the ground, heading after Caboose. Unlike some of my other cats and dog, I had no doubt the kitten would attack her–he just had that wild streak in him. I started to rise from the patio chair, ready to yell at him, as Caboose had her back to him and she’d never see him coming.
Just as he bolted through the grass, Caboose turned and darted toward him.
She ran several feet and bit him; the cat yelped, spun, and hightailed it up the fence where he stared down warily.
Caboose went back to eating grass. The kitten never went near her again.
That’s my girl.
Writer of urban fantasy, thrillers/mysteries, and horror.
Sorry for your loss *hugs*
What cute pictures though! Especially the one in the cage with the cat 🙂 I used to have two Dutch bunnies (Spike and Oreo). Oreo was the female and she was pretty mellow, but Spike was a big pain in the butt–he liked to bite, even if I was putting food in his dish. Those two ended up having some babies (NINE of them in one go). I named them after characters in Lord of the Rings LOL
I miss them terribly some days. When I broke up with my ex I had to find them all homes (which was much easier than I thought it would be, considering the number of them). My cat hated those two, because they used to chase her around the house. Now, if I even say the word “bunny”, she growls at me.
Aww, when I was a teen I had two meat rabbits (not that I was going to eat them, but they were super inexpensive compared to the pet store). A great big gray chinchilla rabbit named Ophelia, who was super friendly and cuddly, and one more nervous bunny who was mostly white and named Nibbles the Fanatical Vegetarian and didn’t like to be handled.
It’s easy to think of them as shy prey animals but I found they can be QUITE aggressive. I never left Caboose out unsupervised but I had no doubt she could hold her own against the cats. I’ve never had babies, though, I think it would stress me out to try to find homes, but I loooooove babies omg. I always stop and talk to them at the pet store when they have them.
I think a few years from now (when I have fewer cats), I’d like to get another–I’ll see about adopting one next time. I’d really love to get a Rex.
Sorry to hear of your loss. Rabbits are often overlooked as house-pet options, but can be really great companions. She was lucky to have you.
Thank you, I just wish she KNEW she was lucky LOL. There aren’t a lot of people who would’ve kept a miserable rabbit who hated them but I couldn’t imagine giving her up.
They are really great pets, not so much for kids (and unfortunately that’s usually who they’re given to) but for people who understand they require the cost and care of a cat and respect that. I’d really like another some day and given the way the Doombuggy has been walking around the apartment yowling, I think the cats would as well.
I could almost certainly round up a young’un for you when you’re ready. No rush though… the semi-feral beasties that live under my chicken coop breed constantly so there are new babies popping up every few weeks all spring and summer.