The problem with giving a home to an abandoned animal is that they are generally of An Unknown Quantity. And with His Lordship being a veterinary surgeon, who works in a practice where animals are sometimes dumped/abandoned, this means that over the 20 years we’ve been together, ALL the animals that have come to live chez nous have been Unknown Quantities. Except the chickens. And they are a law unto themselves anyway, so don’t count on the Unknown Quantity Scale.
It’s generally cats we adopt. We had a couple of chinchillas once. Their known quantity was eating everything other than their proper food that they could get their destructive little teeth into, including my coat and a pair of wellingtons. They redeemed themselves with their entertaining bathing habits. If you’ve never seen a chinchilla spinning in a bowl of dust, you’ve never lived. However, we’ve never taken in a bunny. Until Edith, Rabbit of Mystery, arrived two days before Christmas.
Things I know about Edith:
1) she is very friendly and clearly used to being handled
2) she likes a variety of food, but not carrots or basil
3) she is unperturbed by cockerels screeching in her big ol’ rabbitty ears
4) she likes being outdoors, sitting on a log
5) she also likes being indoors, which leads me to assume she might have been a house rabbit
6) her manky eye is healed and she is no longer at risk of becoming ‘Edith, the One Eyed Rabbit’
7) she treats cats with casual disdain
8) she is VERY soft and velvety of fur
Things I don’t know about Edith:
1) her age
2) her breed
3) her response in the face of danger
4) her political persuasions and where she stands on Marmite
I brought her indoors this morning, for a bit of a cuddle and explore of the kitchen. Andy was making bread - she was uninterested in bread making. I sat on the floor with her and watched as she hopped around, sniffing this, poking that, showing a little too much interest in the toggle of my parka coat which was hanging on the back of a bar stool. She was all ears up and twitchy nose, stopping every now and then to wash her face and clean between her toes. I tried, via the magic of the Interwebbly, to ascertain her breed. So far, I have established that she is definitely a rabbit.
And then Bambino appeared…
He said, ‘What is THAT, and why is it in MY kitchen in cahoots with MY human being?’
He is very possessive, is Bambino.
Anyway, he watched her, she ignored him. He hissed a bit (feebly) when she came too close. He was, generally, okay. We gave him some catnip crunchy biscuits as a reward for not chasing and causing damage unto her. He was torn between keeping an eye on the intruder and eating the biscuits. It didn’t take long for love of biscuits to overcome revolt of Potential New Bunny Friend. The way to Bambino’s heart is through his stomach. He is so shallow.
Edith, meanwhile, continued her explorations. She checked out Bambino’s water fountain, and ate a piece of his fur she found drifting across the floor like tumble weed. And then she approached, in a not very casual manner. It was more, ‘Hi, you big furry dollop! My name is Edith and I am adorable!’
Bambino emitted a pitiful series of meows and what I can only describe as strangulated emotional whimpers, Edith took off at speed, exit stage left, and sat by the fridge thumping her back foot in disgust.
And here endeth the ‘Let’s All Be Friends and Bond’ session. Still, it lasted over half an hour and at one point there were a few seconds of mirrored grooming.
Andy is constructing a rabbit house in the garden of huge magnificence. Because soon we shall have to seek a companion for Edith, if she is to remain a garden rabbit. I’m not sure if Bambino will ever accept her as a house rabbit. I don’t know whether to continue with my idea of bunny/ kitty play dates. I don’t want to cause distress to either of them.
But never say never.
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