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.