When it comes to rabbits, the good old days were not that long ago. There was Marble, the king of the house and all rabbits, who was both soul mate of Tracey and tormenter of our cats, and Pepper and Marble Junior, who loved hanging together in their play area.
And that was it.
Somewhere along the way, things went a little awry. First Pepper passed on, followed by Marble a year later. In the meantime, She’s A Little Half Pint and The Big Nipper came aboard, but then TBN passed on, only to be replaced by Cosmo shortly thereafter. Then Peanut (a.k.a. “That Little Bitch”) was brought in as a stray, but then a few months after that Junior passed on, replaced with the combo of Ginger and Geronimo.
So we had (in order of appearance) Half Pint, Cosmo, Peanut, Ginger, and Geronimo. Five rabbits spread across two rooms (Peanut has our bedroom, everyone else has the office). And we could deal with that.
Last fall, when I rescued my sister-in-law Tammy from the dregs of St. Petersburg, she came with a package deal – her two rabbits “Floppy” and “Cookie”, two male rabbits from the same litter (Floppy’s the black and white one). I thought they were stupid names for rabbits, but hey, what do I know?
Anyways, when Tam came here, we set her and F & C up in our spare bedroom, and we soon came to know why she called them affectionately, “The Beastie Boys”. Not only do these two rabbits have the highest metabolisms I’ve ever seen in any rabbit – they eat, chase each other around, and basically raise hell continuously – but they spend their days destroying the grass mats I’ve put down and bang their heads against the fence we’ve placed at the door to keep them segregated from the rest of the household!
And for now, since Tam is still in residential housing following her meltdown last fall, they’re ours, at least for the time being.
Seven rabbits, one 1,700 sq. foot house. You should see our grocery bill!
Anyway, everyone’s been asking for a picture of Tam’s rabbits, so here they are: “The Beastie Boys”! I’m just amazed I was able to catch them relaxing just long enough to snap a picture.
I feel your pain Great Kahuna…now that mom is with me, so are her two cats, Buddy and Nellie. So far, Nellie has had 500.00 worth of dental work and Buddy is getting his today. Guess dad didn’t think about regular cleanings for them. Nellie and Buddy have access to the rest of the house but instead, have claimed mom’s room as their ZONE and woe to the others if they enter. Lillie and Andrew go in anyway just to stir up yeowling and hissing (for their own amusement and not mine). Buddy is out of sorts without dad as he was dad’s buddy. Willie is approaching 18 this summer and being an old man, with old man issues.
We were a content and peaceful home of four…now we are seven in a 1300sq ft home. So, I do parallel your and Tracey’s situation and empathize with unequaled clarity. And yes, the grocery bill is ridiculous.
Comment by Jana — February 19, 2010 @ 7:00 am