When a rabbit wants attention....

Rabbits are kind of a mix of a cat and a horse (the world's tiniest horse, of course). I will probably talk about this ad nauseum in different posts, so now you've been forewarned. In this post, I want to talk about how rabbits like attention. Like cats, rabbits like to be largely left to their own devices and to observe you. Stipple loves chilling out under the couch, watching me and Rooms study. At various times of the day, he'll switch his vantage point.

Stipple, chilling like a villain in his couch fortress.

Every once in a while, like a cat, he'll hop up and get your attention. Usually, this means he pokes me with his nose. Unlike a cat, and more like a horse, he'll shy away from you if you try to touch him when he's poking you. This can lead to some confusion on my part, since he occasionally comes up and repeatedly pokes me, but runs away before I can tell what he wants.

Sometimes, Stipple REALLY wants your full attention. That is when this happens:

Followed by:

MOM PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!!

Well, fine then. I'll leave.

I'm still not certain what he wants from me when he does this. Sometimes he gets so frustrated he starts trying to dig a hole. Of course, since he's on me, that means I get to play the role of the dirt.

One day I'll figure out what he wants when he does that. Until that time, all I can say is you can tell when a rabbit wants your attention.

Boytoy and the Bun-Bun

My boyfriend and Stipple have an interesting relationship. They both like each other, but there's definitely some weird male-bonding component to it.

Boytoy likes to feed Stipple "carpet hay". "Carpet hay" is the bits and pieces of hay that fall on the carpet when I'm feeding Stipple, or that Stipple throws outside of his cage while he's tearing through his hay piles like a land-shark. Stipple, in response to Boytoy's offerings, usually takes the hay and throws it on the ground of his cage. Sometimes, he'll even stop eating his dinner to take the "carpet hay" just to throw it away. Occasionally he'll eat it, much to Boytoy's delight. Boytoy maintains that Stipple eats the hay most of the time, but I haven't seen such evidence.

The other thing Boytoy loves to do with Stipple is "poke the rabbit". Boytoy will find wherever Stipple is and gently poke him. Stipple used to run away, but now he sits and lets himself be poked. This actually has made it really difficult to get him out from under things, since he doesn't mind being gently poked and prodded. Apparently, the attention from poking has helped the two of them bond.

Stipple really likes Boytoy. I'm actually surprised by how much they like each other. Today, while I was cleaning Stipple's cage, I saw Stipple and Boytoy, nose to nose. Boytoy was petting Stipple, who was licking the carpet in ecstasy (a post on Stipple's relationship with the carpet will be coming some time in the future). Later, Stipple hopped up on the couch between me and Boytoy and checked on Boytoy before coming over to say hi to me!

I am happy the two major men in my day-to-day life like (dare I say "love"?) each other.

How to Tell If Your Rabbit Misses You

I spent most of yesterday out in Illinois, visiting family. I ended up going to see the Chicago Symphony play with my aunt, uncle, sister, brother-in-law, and a close childhood friend. I ended up spending the night with my aunt and uncle's house, rather than driving home late that night. I arrived home this morning, and Stipple missed me. :)

So how can you tell if your rabbit misses you? For one, Stipple greeted me. I came into my bedroom, opened his cage, and Stipple shot out under my feet immediately. Usually when I open his cage in the morning, Stipple wants to hang out and eat a bit more of his breakfast. Another clue was Stipple would not leave me alone. Usually if he checks up on me, Stipple just hops by, pokes me with his nose and leaves. This morning he stuck around me for a half hour, licking my hands, hopping on top of me, and continually nose-poking me.  Now, he has settled down some, lying in a position that's a cross between "causal rabbit" and "very content rabbit".

Sneaky Rabbit, isn't necessarily sneaky

Sometimes, Stipple thinks he's sneaky. Now that I've had him for half a year, he's been more confident, and thus, less sneaky. However, when I first got him, he was full of "sneakiness". In those early days, I would let Stipple roam throughout my small apartment, with the exception of my bedroom, which was closed off. For some reason, Stipple was convinced he wasn't allowed in the kitchen or bathroom at all. (I have no idea why. It's not like I ever chased him away from those areas or made loud noises when he went there.) Since he was sure he shouldn't be there, but was naturally curious, Stipple would try to enter these areas in stealth mode. Stealth mode is characterized by Stipple staying close to the ground, almost making him flat. He then army crawls around instead of hopping. The thing is, this method of movement is pretty noticeable.  Stipple's a big bunny. Seeing him try to slither all eight pound of fluff around is very distracting and adorable. He's actually more obvious moving around in stealth mode than he is just hopping around.

I guess the fun of moving around in stealth mode is really just the fun of watching Stipple "get away" with something that he's always allowed to do.