The Adventures of Tiny R
A Bunny's Tale
It wasn't until Tiny R got to be around a year old that I noticed that he didn't always have that shiny black, well-groomed look that I had come to expect. In fact, some mornings he came out of his cage looking like he'd spent the night out on the town. A real rough night, I might add.
When I took a closer look I could see what was happening. Tiny R was going bald! Well, not exactly bald but he was losing a lot of hair. It was hanging off his body in tufts, mostly around his little round rump. The reason it was so noticeable was that the loose under-fur was gray which made quite a contrast to his usually shiny black coat.
As I always do when I run into something new about Tiny R, I consulted the House Rabbit Society web site to get some answers. I was happy to find out that Tiny R's situation was entirely normal, just a simple case of shedding.
Well, what to do about it? Tiny R is fastidious about keeping his paws and face clean. And he regularly grooms his ears. But that's about where his interest in cleaning up ends. It became apparent that it was up to me if the rest of his body was going to get any attention.
I bought a cat grooming brush. That didn't work. And Tiny R wasn't very thrilled about it anyway. So I resorted to basics. I held him on my lap and gently plucked the little gray tufts out one by one. Tiny R wasn't happy about that either but he relented when he realized he didn't have any say in the matter.
Actually, I don't think Tiny R minded the grooming as much as he tried to put on. After he realized that sitting on my lap wasn't an option, he relaxed and gave in. He eventually seemed to nap a little as I gently removed the loose hair.
During one of his particularly heavy sheds, I removed enough loose fur to fill a one pound coffee can. Of course that's the hair I could round up. There was probably another quarter of a cup floating through the air. How else would it have ended up on top of the refrigerator?
I never realized how fine rabbit fur was until I started grooming Tiny R. When it's not firmly connected to his body, the fine downy hair takes off and floats to unbelievable heights. It's as if it has no weight at all.
After a grooming session on my lap, Tiny R is rewarded with a bit of graham cracker. Then he washes his hands and face. And I am forgiven. Until the next time.
You're On My Turf Now, Pardner!
I suppose it's because he's a male rabbit but Tiny R has definite ideas about what constitutes his territory. And he isn't a bit bashful about letting intruders know just who's boss. That includes the cat.
Even though the cat has been around a lot longer than Tiny R, it wasn't until this past year that we started letting the cat into the house for brief periods. As you might expect, Tiny R didn't like the idea very much. I couldn't blame Tiny R for being concerned. After all, cats are basically predators and wild rabbits sometimes end up as lunch.
So the first time we opened the back door and invited "The Cat" inside, we didn't know if it was a good idea or not. But The Cat (which is only one of the many names he's earned since he decided to join our family about 10 years ago) thought the idea of a semi-indoor life was a nice change of pace. Up until then he had been a garage cat who hung out with our other old cat that finally died from old age.
The Cat earned his keep by patrolling the property line and keeping mice out of the garage. We always assumed The Cat was a "he" since he never got pregnant and seemed to keep other cats out of the yard. We also assumed that sometime in his previous life his owner had him neutered since he always hung around and seemed unaffected by the call of the wild.
But I digress. . . Getting back to Tiny R.
The first time The Cat was allowed in the house, Tiny R became obviously nervous. Even though The Cat was only allowed as far as the kitchen, Tiny R was well aware of him and watched with great intensity from the safety of his cage. Finally, I lifted the door of his cage and hooked it. Then I waited to see what would happen.
After a few more minutes, Tiny R hopped out and took up a position a few feet away from his cage. He sat there on the carpet, his eyes trained on The Cat who was about 10 feet away, lying on his side on the linoleum with his head resting on the carpet edge.
With his eyes half shut, The Cat appeared to be oblivious of Tiny R. But Tiny R wasn't fooled. Even though he's a domestic rabbit, Tiny R's basic survival instincts have not been bred out. That cat was on his turf and Tiny R meant to do something about it!
Tiny R hopped right over to The Cat and stationed himself directly in front of the intruder, daring him to come any further into his territory, "his territory" being the carpet. As long as The Cat stayed in the kitchen, that was OK. But put one paw over the line and Tiny R was ready to fight.
Well, for a couple of weeks, everything went along all right. The Cat stayed in the kitchen and Tiny R made sure he did. Then one night it finally happened. The Cat was feeling very social and decided to join us in the living room. Without thinking of the consequences, he ventured over the established 38th parallel and came waltzing in as if he owned the joint.
Tiny R went ballistic! Like a speeding cannon ball, he charged at The Cat, obviously prepared to defend his territory at all costs. The Cat, though twice Tiny R's size, was caught off guard.
As Tiny R came to an abrupt stop in front of The Cat's face, he lowered his head and fixed his big black eyes on The Cat. It wasn't hard to interpret his body language. "Get the heck out of my space or you'll be sorry!"
The Cat leaped backward as if a bee had stung him and headed for the door. "Let me out of here!", he whined pathetically as he kept looking back over his shoulder to see where that little black demon was.
When I stopped laughing, I let The Cat out the front door. I can guarantee that he went quickly, happily and with obvious relief.
In the meantime, Tiny R hopped triumphantly over to the fireplace hearth and took his place as conqueror and Prince of the realm.
I know that rabbits don't have very expressive faces but I am absolutely positive I detected just a hint of a smile on Tiny R's fuzzy black face that day. A very smug little smile.
Tiny R and the One-Eyed Monster
As you have probably gathered, Tiny R isn't a timid rabbit. Small but gutsy. A rabbit with attitude. We've come to expect the unexpected with Tiny R. But sometimes he does something that surprises even us. Like the time he did battle with the vacuum cleaner.
Tiny R has never been in awe of the vacuum cleaner. He sits calmly on the hearth and watches while it roars back and forth over the carpet. No big deal.
One day while I was vacuuming the living room, I noticed a few wisps of hay that had escaped from Tiny R's cage. As I aimed the vacuum cleaner toward the cage, Tiny R suddenly came up out of his loaf position.
Then, without any warning at all, Tiny R bolted off the hearth. Straight for the vacuum cleaner. He screeched to a stop right in front of it, the light shining down on him like a spotlight. Tiny R lowered his head and dared that noisy monster to make one step closer. "Come on, you big bully. Put up your dukes and fight!"
The silver vacuum continued to roar but it didn't move. Tiny R cocked his head a little to one side and continued to stare the devil machine straight into its one big bright eye.
Finally the vacuum cleaner realized it was licked. It backed away slowly, still roaring. The roar gradually faded as the machine backed down the hall and finally hid itself in the hall closet.
Tiny R puffed himself up, gave a little kick, hopped back up on the hearth and settled in. So much for monsters!
One thing about rabbits, they're full of surprises. Just when you think you know every little nuance of your bunny's personality, he comes up with something new. I guess that's what makes Tiny R so special to us. He keeps us entertained.
One mannerism that amuses me is when he does his "twinkle toes" walk. This only occurs after he has been napping outside his cage. At the end of his nap, he wakes up, stretches, yawns with his head tilted back and then walks for a few steps on his tiptoes. The only thing I can think of is that he's stretching his back legs that are stiff after napping in one position for so long.
I don't know why watching Tiny R walk on his toes is so entertaining. It only involves a couple of steps. And it happens so fast that most people probably wouldn't even notice. But for some reason, seeing Tiny R mincing along with his furry black behind hoisted into the air never fails to make me laugh. Go figure.
It is traditional in our family that our pets receive gifts on Christmas. And yes, they have their own Christmas stockings on the fireplace mantle. Go ahead and snicker and get it over.
Anyway, when December rolled around, I wondered what I could get for Tiny R that would be fun to play with. Then I remembered something I had read on one of the rabbit web pages. Plastic keys on a ring. You know, a baby toy.
So the next time I went shopping I took a swing through the baby section. I thought plastic keys on a ring would be an easy toy to find. But it wasn't. Eventually, about five stores later, I did find a set of keys and bought them. They were all enclosed in plastic so I couldn't tell how much they weighed but they looked pretty sturdy. Would Tiny R like the keys? I didn't know. All I could do is wrap them up and hope for the best.
Well, Christmas arrived and Tiny R got his present. His own set of keys! "Wow, Mom! Just what I wanted!"
Plastic baby keys make a delightful, sharp, clacking noise when they're thrown around. Tiny R enjoys that. He picks them up and gives them a throw. It gets our attention immediately.
It wasn't long before Tiny R got an idea. Every time he threw his keys around in his cage, we came over and talked to him and let him out. "Hmmmm," he thought. "I think I can put these keys to practical use."
The next thing we knew, every time Tiny R wanted to get out of his cage and be social, he picked up his keys, took them over to the door of his cage and threw them down with a determined crash! Then he sat back and stared at us until we came over and opened the door.
When the door was lifted and secured, Tiny R hoped out with triumphant flair. Of course, we made a big fuss over his ability to communicate.
One thing about Tiny R, when he learns something that gives him power, he doesn't forget it. Now when he wants to come out of his cage, he hops over to his keys, throws them down in front of the cage door and sits there until we let him out. And if we move a little too slow, he throws them down again. No doubt about it, Tiny R knows how to use his keys. Such a smart little animal. He really has us trained.
Sometimes Tiny R gets into trouble. You see, he likes to rip and tear. Carpet, newspaper, cloth. You name it, he'll give it a go. Tiny R's just a little guy but he has a whole lot of energy. Add strong claws and sharp teeth and you can imagine the rest.
Whenever Tiny R gets too rambunctious and looks like he needs an outlet for his pent up energy, we usually give him the want ads from the newspaper to shred. He really goes after the paper and by the time he's out of gas, there are small pieces of paper all over the room. The only bad part is that I'm left to do the clean-up.
Hundreds of tiny pieces of paper. Here, there and everywhere. OK, get out the vacuum again. It didn't take long to figure out that there had to be a better way. That's when the "rip and tear" box was born.
A trip to the garage turned up a clean apple box. Heavy duty cardboard. OK, get rid of the top and cut a door in one end. Put four or five sheets of newspaper in the bottom. Throw an old, worn out dishtowel across part of the top and let Tiny R out of his cage.
Tiny R had been watching the whole thing from his cage. He was very, very interested! Once his cage door was lifted, Tiny R was out and on his way to inspect the new box.
After the first few inquisitive sniffs and nose-pokes, Tiny R stuck his head inside the box to check it out. Then in he hopped.
It was quiet. What was Tiny R doing in there? Then a little gentle rustling. Paper moving around. All of a sudden there was Tiny R's head poking up over the edge of the box, wearing part of the dishtowel on his head. After seeing where we were and that we were still being an attentive audience, Tiny R began digging.
The sound of newspaper being ripped to shreds. The sound of rabbit claws digging and scratching. It sounded like a lot of good, clean rabbit fun. And best of all, no paper scattered around the room and no bare areas in the carpet. Tiny R was having a blast!
Tiny R's "rip and tear" box is now a permanent feature in our living room. It isn't much to look at. But Tiny R loves it. He spends time inside his box almost everyday. Sometimes he just goes in to hang out for a while. He knows it's one place he can go, be as destructive as he wants and never get scolded.
A "rip and tear" box. What a concept. But in this increasingly complicated world, sometimes the simple solution works best. Cheap is a bonus.
I'm Tired of Wearing Basic Black
Several years ago I bought a small piece of white fleece material for Tiny R. It only measures about a foot and a half square but it is just right for Tiny R.
Now what would a rabbit be doing with a piece of material, you ask? Well, at first it was simply a diversionary tactic to keep Tiny R from shredding the small fleece blanket our old dog, Chamois, used to lie on. Tiny R took a real liking to her blanket and before we knew it, the binding around the edges had chew marks on it. So to save Chamois' blanket, I got Tiny R a piece of fleece to play with. I figured he'd play with it for a while and then lose interest.
I was wrong. Tiny R loves his fleece. He plays with it almost everyday. We don't give it to him unless we are nearby to make sure he doesn't eat any of the fleece and develop an intestinal blockage.
When Tiny R looks like he needs something to play with, I throw the fleece down on the floor or over his head. He flings it around, digs it, puts a few nips in it. He pushes it with his front feet like a lady rolling out a pie crust. He straightens the wrinkles. He pulls it together in a lump and hikes it backwards with his feet. As you can tell, he's a very busy boy.
The most unusual thing Tiny R has been doing lately is working his way underneath the fleece using head nudges. It takes quite a bit of work but eventually he manages to get his whole body underneath it. He wears it like a shawl with his face sticking out. It's a trick he developed all by himself and he thinks he's pretty cool. Especially when he sits watching TV with us, in his loaf position between our chairs wearing his fleece.
Sometimes Tiny R sticks his head through one of the bigger holes he's chewed in the fleece and wears it like a serape. We just have to keep an eye on him to make sure his head doesn't get stuck when he tries to back out of the hole. Those long ears of his sometime get hung up.
I've never heard of a rabbit who likes to wear clothes. But Tiny R is not your usual rabbit. I think he gets bored with wearing his same old basic black fur coat everyday. When he poses with his white fleece draped artistically around his shoulders, you can tell he's making a fashion statement.
I don't think Tiny R's fascination with dressing up in fleece will last much longer. Summer is just around the corner. It won't be long until Tiny R is sprawling gratefully in front of his tiny fan. Fleece just doesn't make it when it's 105 degrees in the shade!
As I mentioned, Tiny R sometimes enjoys watching TV. This isn't something he does all the time. Actually, Tiny R has definite preferences.
His favorite programs are about animals, especially dogs. Maybe because he has known a dog before, his old pal, Chamois.
The first time I noticed Tiny R watching TV was when Walt Disney's "101 Dalmatians" cartoon movie was on. I saw him sitting on the floor about 4 feet in front of the TV set, in his bus position with his head tilted up. At first I didn't give it much thought. But there was something about his position that looked different. As I focused on Tiny R, I finally figured out what it was.
Although Tiny R appeared quite relaxed, his eyes were wide open. He was definitely not asleep. His lop ears were cocked forward so he could hear better. The action and sounds from the talking/barking dogs had his complete attention. Anyone who has seen "101 Dalmatians" knows there is a lot of action, with all those puppies and their antics.
At first I couldn't believe that a rabbit would watch TV. But after a while, it was obvious I was wrong. There was something about the cartoon that fascinated Tiny R.
And here's something you probably won't believe but I swear it's true: During a commercial break, Tiny R got up, hopped back to his cage, used his potty, then came back out and took up his same place to watch the movie again. Imagine, a rabbit understanding the reason for commercials! The only thing he didn't do was go to the kitchen for a snack. But of course, he can't reach the refrigerator door handle. And he doesn't like to hop on linoleum.
I don't mean to mislead anyone. Tiny R isn't a TV addict. In fact he rarely watches. I guess even a rabbit understands there's not much worth watching on TV these days.
A year or so ago I received an e-mail note from a lady who had a pet rabbit. I got a kick out of her description of how her bunny would patrol the house at night. If the rabbit heard something that he didn't think was right, he hopped underneath her bed and thumped over and over until she got up and checked it out. Only after the lady made sure that everything was OK did the bunny feel he had done his job.
I've heard of watch dogs, watch snakes, watch parrots and watch pigs, but this was the first time I'd ever heard of a watch rabbit!
Well, Tiny R isn't a watch rabbit. And I can guarantee that he's never going to get a chance to be one. He simply isn't trustworthy when it comes to chewing things. But he does do a little thumping now and then.
From what I've been able to figure out, there are about four reasons Tiny R thumps. If the cat invades his territory, if he hears something that scares him or he doesn't understand, if he's irritated about something or if he's jealous.
Most of the time Tiny R is a very calm bunny. But now and then something either scares him or really ticks him off. Then he does not hesitate letting us know about it. Whamp! It's amazing that one little rabbit can make that much noise using just his back leg.
After alerting us that he is nervous or has a grievance, he sits very still and stares at us. If we are slow to figure out what he wants, he thumps again. Again the stare. By the second thump, he has our complete attention.
Sometimes we figure out what he wants quickly. Especially if the cat's inside. The cat gets put outside and Tiny R is happy. Or he's tired of being cooped up in his cage and wants to come out for a while. The cage door goes up, Tiny R hops out and he's happy again.
Other times the thump remains a complete mystery. Maybe he hears something outside that he perceives as a threat. Even though we don't see or hear anything different, we always check it out. You just never know. And as long as Tiny R sees some action on our part, he's satisfied. Just the act of getting up, going to the door and poking our head out soothes and assures him that things are OK.
I am convinced that Tiny R sometimes thumps just because he wants attention. Especially since those particular thumping episodes occur when I am reading the paper. And not paying attention to him. Hmmmm. A little jealous, perhaps? A little spoiled? Nah . . . . . Do you think?
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