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.

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".