My Little Buddy. . .

My Sebastian passed away last night. It was very fast; I came home from work and he was dying. I rushed him to the Emergency Vet, but there was nothing they could do. I drove all the way there with him on my lap, talking to him, knowing he wasn't going to m,ake it and dtermined that if he died before we reached the vet, at least I was holding him, petting him. He knew I loved him.

I know mothers aren't supposed to have favorites, but he slept on my bed. He laid on my chest while I watched movies and petted him. He was my fuzzy faced boy. I miss him so much already. I know Viola is going to miss him too; she doesn't know it yet. They were finally, at long last, together. Bonded.

He's gone, and my heart is broken.

The Bonding Chronicles 6: Trouble in the Water

So, after my recent triumpth of a few days ago, where I caught Viola grooming Sebastian through the bars of his enclosure, we had a setback last night. I had taken Sebastian out and sat on the couch with him, and she came around very quickly. She hopped, nervously and a little agressively, around on the couch, trying to get onto my lap to get at him. I tried to pet her to calm her down and stop her from possibly charging him while he was on my lap, and she bit me. Hard. And drew blood.

I immediately took him back to his cage and closed him in it, and she came right in, where I sat on the ground and started to cry. She hopped around me, nudging me territorially, and acted very jealous when I tried to pet them both at the same time. I feel at the end of my rope emotionally here: I can't part with either rabbit; they are both part of my family, and I'm their bunny-mom. But, what if she just refuses to accept him? She seems fine with him in the cage, but doesn't like it whenever I take him out.

I'm just not sure what else to do here . . . .

The Bonding Chronicles 5: Caught in the Act!

Yes, you are seeing this. I know I said I caught her licking his head the other day, and here is the proof.

She's licking his head.

The Bonding Chronicles 4: This Time It's Personal

No humans were harmed by the disapproval in this picture.

So, after nearly two months of worrying, fretting, pulled hair, and nearly-ripped out throats (and that is just from the people involved), the bonding process had a little triumpth this morning.

She was licking his head.

SHE WAS LICKING HIS FRIGGING HEAD.

I know I sound like a lunatic, but this is a very big deal. Yes, it was separated by bars, and yes, grooming is a form of dominance, but it is not aggressive as, say, charging and growling is. Believe me, I was growing very discouraged about whether or not they would ever get along, so this is a monster-sized deal.

I woke up this morning to the usual sounds of Sebastian running around his cage, ready for greens and pets and ready for mommy to get up. It got rather quiet, and I opened my eyes and looked towards the cage to see Viola in front of it; not an unusual site. She usually comes to see him in the morning, does her morning pee next to the bars, and then follows me out to the kitchen for her own breakfast. Except this morning I saw her doing something at the bars, so I grabbed my glasses to get a better look.

They have a habit of sniffing each other through the bars; in the beginning, she would only tolerate this for a few moments before growling at him, and he would hop away. Lately, they have been sitting together more often, sniffing each other through the bars, and she has not growled. This morning, I saw her head moving, and he had his head down to her, and I realized: she's licking his head. She would lick for a few seconds, stop and look at me, then lick a few seconds more. She did this until I got out of bed and went to tell my sister (I was too excited/astonished to keep quiet). When I came back in she was lying against the bars, which she has been doing a lot more lately.

Is it possible she has finally realized he is a permanent fixture, and kinda nice to have around? Believe me, this is not an overnight thing; there is still a lot of danger in their being together without bars. I will put them together this evening in their neutral space and she will probably still be fairly aggressive towards him. But, I am very encouraged by this sign. Maybe by the end of the summer, I can actually let him out of his cage when I'm home and can supervise. I'm not holding my breath for miracles, but maybe there's hope!

After all, she was licking his head.

The Bonding Chronicles 3: Bond Harder

(Dramatic music. VO: famous trailer guy Don Lafontaine)
In a world where two rabbits need to learn how to coexist peacefully . . . you have: Bond Harder! (cue: large background explosion with two bunnies hopping away from it in the foreground. You just know these bunnies are about to start some shit.)

Yes, the bonding continues.

I have finally gotten them to the point where there is no fighting or ripping out of fur; Viola is now willing to sit within two feet of Sebastian, as long as I am petting both with my protective gloves on. Sebastian is actually more alert in her presence now than the reverse; he is waiting for her to charge at him, and is a little afraid of her right now. I'm hoping that a few more days like this will begin to relax him around her.

She also seems willing to sniff him and be sniffed by him through the bars of his cage, though she still grunts at him from time to time when he lingers a little too long. I also saw her nosing the stuffed surrogate the other day, and sniffing it repeatedly without showing any nervousness or aggression.

Yes, these are admittedly very small steps, but I am willing to go as slowly as I need to in order to get them together. Rabbits are very smart and have very long memories; all it takes is one bad experience to sour them against something or someone for a very long time. I intend to continue to go gradually and keep the experience as positive as possible, and hopefully in a few weeks they will be to the point where I can let him free in the apartment without worrying that they will fight.

Next up: forced intimacy. While they are both together and fairly relaxed, I will put Sebastian down right next to Viola, and see if they will stay this way without getting freaked or growling and snapping.

Stay tuned!

Bonding Chronicles: Part Deux . . .

My new bunny has officially taken over my bedroom.

If you'll recall, originally, Sebastian had been living in a medium-sized cage, with plenty of room to hop in, but still rather confined and a little frustrating for him. I had massive guilt about this, but as long as Viola still wants to fight with him, in the cage he stays for both their protection.

Yesterday I had to stop at Petco to pick up more Timothy Hay, as Sebastian is like a little Hoover for bunny food , and I decided to look at the metal grating you usually see used for dog kennels and runs. Red Door uses them to do bunny introductions, and it is much more open than the cage. So, I found the tallest one they had and coughed up the extra money for it, then went home and set it up.

It's like he's moved to the Bunny Ritz-Carlton; this thing is bigger than my living space at the old apartment! He wasted no time exploring it and peeing on the fresh newspaper I put down; he is a very messy boy. I hope she can teach him some tidier litter habits, eventually. Maybe he can teach her to chew on the chew toys; he started using the toys I bought him righ away, whereas she disdains them in favor of an obliging table leg;)

As for the bonding process . . . well, not much new to report. She is possibly getting more used to his presence, but she's still not happy about it at all, very threatened and afraid. She charges at him and chases him, and while I always separate them and calm them down immediately, it does not seem to be getting better. I am not sending him back; we have all fallen in love with him now. I will just have to keep working at it until one day she accepts him. In the meantime, he lives in my room, and regularly decides that 4am is the time I should be getting up in the morning . . . .

Bonding Chronicles: New bunny in the house . . .

That's right: there's a new bunny in da house;)

Saturday we took Viola on another bunny date at Red Door; she had just been there two weeks earlier too meet Thumper, a black, fuzzy boy bunny who seemed very mellow and rather charmed by her. This time around, they met, they sniffed, and he came home with us.

Thus begins the Bonding Chronicles. Anyone who has ever tried bonding two rabbits can probably attest to this: rabbits do not usually fall in love at first sight. They can fight and scratch and charge and growl until finally the home bunny accepts the visitor. Ultimately, bonded rabbits are healthier, mentally and physically; rabbits are social creatures, and they do better in pairs and groups. You just have to get them there;)

Viola, usually pretty mild and nervous, has become a little warrior rabbit, charging at him, growling and stamping, territorial and pissy. Thumper, however, who we have renamed Sebastian (after Viola's brother in Twelfth Night), is mellow and easy-going, and hopefully his gentleness will eventually persuade her to like him. Until then, the gloves stay on, and he has to live in a cage for a bit.

I'll keep you all posted on the progress . . .