Reggie has been living with us for almost a month now. He is comfortable in his room (my former creativity room) and loves to stay in there the majority of the time. The rest of the family will come in to hang out. Fiona and he seemed to have formed a friendship. I have seen them chase each other and the other morning, he was still in his pen and she was lying on the outside of it sharing space. I tried to take a photo of that, but unfortunately, I got distracted trying to capture Oski’s Sun cat essence and by the time I gave up (he just wouldn’t sit still) I saw Fiona move to the kitchen. I just got this new digital camera and I am still trying to learn how to use it, even though it is pretty simple.
As I have gotten to know Reggie better, I realize that he has a very strong personality and if he was in a Warren, he would be the top bunny. I think that is partially why Oski doesn’t seem to bug him the same way he did Rexy. Nothing seems to faze Reggie. Even in the first couple of weeks, when I would guide him away from something I still needed to bunny proof there was a day of two where he would snort at me—a rabbit’s way of showing annoyance. I knew if I was too forceful for him he might start being aggressive with me, so I would talk to him sweetly and then guide him where I wanted. One day he was so hyper, jumping on everything, running through the house as if someone lit his paw on fire that he was running erratically through the house. I finally put him back in his cage.
The next day, while he was still in his cage, I had a heart to heart talk with him. I explained to him that he needs to listen to me. That my only intention is to keep him safe. I told him we love the fact that he loves to run around and explore. We want him to feel comfortable in our home. We are so happy that he decided to live with us. I love his energy and the way he loves to jump into the air and move his head from side to side to let us know how happy he is—but I am his mom and I am here to keep him safe, and if I tell him to move away from something it is only to keep him safe—so it is important to listen to me and his dad. The next time I let him out, he was more subdued and he stopped snorting at me.
But almost a month later and he is comfortable with us. He is finally letting me know that he does like me. I came in the room after David let him out and said enthusiastically, “hey Reggie, it’s good to see you—it’s me your mom” when he heard my voice I saw his energy perk up. Because rabbits don’t have the best eye sight, I started waving my hand vigorously and said “it’s me your mom, I am right here.” With that he ran out of his cage and came right up to me. Because I know sudden movements can cause him to bolt, out of instinct, I let him come up to me to find me then I reached down slowly and scratched the top of his head. I love it that he likes me. Sometimes I think animals are wary of me because my energy is more present than most people. I know they can hear me so I focus my intent on connecting with them on a soul level. For some animals with trust issues sometimes being that present makes them uncertain.
So I like to let them make the first move-eventually, they will realize I am an ok human and from that point forward, we get along great. So the 4-legged kids are getting along fine—they are all finding their niche and the stress of bunny proofing the house, recognizing where to bunny proof, the most efficient way to bunny proof—that’s been taken care for the most part, but as with everything in life, it is important to be flexible to any changes that could come up. One day Reggie may find an unexplored place that I didn’t know was there and then back to finding yet another thing to bunny proof, but it is worth it when I see how happy he is, watching him leap in the air, kicking his back feet from side to side—coming up to me, standing up on his hind legs and resting his front paws on my leg to say “hi mom”. Looking at his little bulldog shaped face with the floppy ears. It’s just part of the process of our way of Maneuvering in the urban jungle that is our home.
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