Maneuvering Through the Urban Jungle

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.

Our Happy Family-New Bunny in the house

His name: Reggie M. Rabbit (M stands for Mini-Lop)
Age: 8 Months old
Color: Black/White quilty coat
Likes: Carrots, bananas, apples, parsley, dandelion greens
Dislikes: Being cooped up in a small space, pushy humans, humans that don’t see his greatness.

We found Reggie at the Humane Society where my husband, David volunteers. He is a very nice, loveable—aren’t they all, spunky bunny. I love the mini-lop personality. They are charming, mischievous, daring and out spoken. They have been described as a canine in a rabbit suit. I have a friend who would scoff “He is a rabbit who has a certain personality, he is not a dog, you are being a classist!” And yes, I guess I was putting him in a box—because rabbits come in with all types of personality traits.

One of my rabbits, Asher, was very playful and gentle he would come when I called him and loved being with the cats in the family. He would sit on the couch with me as I watched TV or he would jump on my lap. Another rabbit, Heather Celeste, loved to spend a lot of time on her own. She would come up to me but preferred to sit in the same corner and sleep, but when she found something she enjoyed to chew on she would become very animated. And our 8 year old, Rex, who just passed—he was quiet, dignified and loved to sit and meditate. He loved spending a lot of time in his pen, but he had a favorite place in the cool hearth of the fireplace to lie on during the summer months. He didn’t like to be picked up but he would come up and greet me when I came home in the evening. I saw him as an intellectual who liked to ponder over the life of bunnies everywhere.

He like other species will connect with other like-minded beings to teach each other things they are learning to help their species evolve. That is why, if they have one life, where maybe they lived with a family that wasn’t sensitive to who they were, they could pass that info on when they die and come back in a place where they know they will be loved and respected.

The first rabbit I had when I was in my 20’s was named Phoebe. She was a grey agouti mini-lop with a determined personality. She could be aggressive when she wasn’t pleased with you or thought you didn’t take her seriously, but if she knew you respected her, she was gentle and patient. She loved her treats. When I would bring out the box of her favorite treat, she would run to me and enthusiastically move her head from side to side to show her excitement. She didn’t even mind that I liked her to sit up to grab it. She lived to be 7 years old. At the time the life span for a rabbit was 2 years old, now with all the new findings on nutrition and cage maintenance, Rabbits are living to be 7-10 years.

What attracted me to Reggie was not just because he was a mini-lop, but I saw something about him I recognized. It was intuitive, but I knew that he would fit in great with our big feline family. Cats and rabbits can be good pals. Since they are both non-confrontational, they seem to be very compatible. One day as I looking at his photo, I realized that he had the same expression as Phoebe. I realized that phoebe came back as Reggie! That is why I was picking up on his personality. I was excited to have her back.

When I was getting ready for Reggie to come to live with us, I was looking up the Mini-Lop to get any tips pertaining to his breed. I forget, that if I type cast him in a certain way, I am not being fair to his unique qualities and so it is no wonder I didn’t find anything. I need to learn from him about who he is. I have Rex who is one of my rabbit allies who will help me with any challenges along the way. I also have our friend Cathy who can answer questions about Reggie if I feel I am not hearing him clearly.

I have been communicating with our own feline and Lupine family for over 20 years. It helps that our 4-legged kids, as I call them, know that David and I are willing to honor their needs as long as it is not harmful to them or goes against the rules of the house. So they pretty much communicate to us through their thoughts, body language or vocalizations.

So David and the rest of the kids will help him to get comfortable in our home. All the kids are happy to have this highly spirited bunny living with us and when they saw Reggie come in, I could see that were excitement to have a bunny living with us again. They have been coming in to visit him in his temporary pen. In the days to come I will chronicle our experiences with Reggie and the antics that he and the rest of the family conspire together. I am sure they will keep us on our toes and who knows; maybe we will all create games to play together. What the start to a new and fun journey.

Our Happy Family--Life With Oski

For the first 5 years of Oski’s life, he might have thought his real name was “Oski-No” because everytime we turned around we had to tell oski to stop what he was doing. NO jumping on the bookcase….leave that cup alone, off that counter now….leave your sister alone…Oski no…Oski no…Oski no!

Oski had a way of looking at the world that didn’t agree with the humans and other beings in the house. Our animal communicator, Cathy says, that Oski looks through the world with rose colored glasses. He thinks its logical to jump on the counter, after all that is where the food is, why can’t he help himself? What difference does it make whether it is in his bowl or not, it will just dirty the bowl and then we will have to wash it? Besides we were going to give it to him anyway, he is really doing us a favor by helping himself.

Sometimes he jumps on the counter so we can really see him more clearly. And if we don’t know he is there, he will knock something off so he makes sure we see him. He knows we will always come running. Sure we may yell at him, but it got the job done. He always tries to make things as efficient as possible.

From Oski’s viewpoint, it is perfectly logical why he does what he does. So our job as his pet parents have been for the past 6 years is to teach him the rules of the house. It has been a rocky, chaotic journey but one that has been rewarding at the same time. We have learned patience, acceptance and developed a broader sense of humor. And Oski has learned to be more patient not as impulsive.

Oski is also a very stubborn young cat who is very smart and like most beings with a high IQ, he gets bored very easily and then will try to direct his energy in what ever is in the way. He really loves to chase things. He loves things that have fast movement and moves a long way. One of his favorite toys are plastic bag twist ties. We renamed them “Twisty-tie toys” for Oski’s benefit. If he starts prowling around the house, I know he is bored and needs something to do. I’ll ask him if he wants to play with his twisty tie toy and he stops what he is doing (even if he is trying to wrestle with one of his sisters) and will stand at attention waiting to see what direction I am going to slide the toy on the floor. Because we have more hardwood floors and linoleum than carpet, when I throw it, I can make it slide quite a distance and it makes a sound he loves, it makes him more motivated to run after it, pounce and capture it.

Sometimes he will pick it up with his claws and bat it around some more or sometimes he will pounce on it and then stop and look at me to say “do it again, Mommy!” so I will pick it up and move it to different rooms in the house. One of his favorite places is throwing it on the bed. He has the added challenge of trying to find it on the bed. Sometimes it goes underneath the covers. On few occasions, he will pick it up and carry it in his mouth and then drop it and play with it on his own.

As Cathy says he is all boy, he is very rambunctious and loud when he jumps off of things. It is as if to say he is here. Being that he was the runt of the litter he had to really make sure every one knew that fact. Sometimes he terrorizes the girls in the house. He can play a little too rough and there are times we have to intervene, but if at all possible we let them work it out. Because Oski is impulsive and a boundary taker, the girls do their best to show their displeasure. Moon, our 6 year old black short hair cat that has the face of an Egyptian goddess, will hiss at him. Sometimes it works, other times he is relentless and then we have to scoop him up and give him a time out in our bedroom, where he will take a nap.

Fiona, the baby of the family, has her own way. She is half the size of Oski. She is a very fluffy cat with a fur collar, very elegant, very dainty. But looks are deceiving. Most of the time, when Oski starts to become too much, she will run after him and with a single look, Oski seems to stop, in some cases she has been known to wrestle with him and throw him over and he stops. For her size, she is a very determined being in her own right. I admire her sense of self, her calm. She has this wide eyed look that seems to have an innocence-a trusting nature.

But even with all his boisterous behavior, there is another side to him. He loves to be cradled like a baby and loves the affection. When I get up in the morning, he will greet me in a certain cadence that says “Hi, mommy, I’m so glad you are up.” Then he will put his front paws up so I will pick him up. He purrs in a soothing, content rhythm and I will carry him around kissing him on the cheek or the head, telling him how wonderful he is. I love this ritual. I am very blessed that Oski and I have such a close relationship. He is a momma’s boy.

Teaching him the rules of the house has been a long, ongoing work in progress. He has been a slow learner. I believe that part of the challenge for Oski is that he seems to be easily distracted, so unless I have his total awareness, getting him to respond to my requests can take a few attempts. The way we got him to respond is teaching him to sit through the method of the clicker and treats. The clicker is a device that makes a very distinct noise, so distinct that most animals, dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, ect., will take notice. This method of training has been very effective for a lot of 4-legged kids.

Once we got his attention, we would say “sit down”. We would put a little pressure on his hind end to give him the idea to sit. Eventually he started sitting. And we would reward him by giving him a treat. Over time, he would sit even if he didn’t get a treat, we would give him a lot of praise. Oski is a pleaser so telling him what a good job he did worked too. Now when he is acting out and I say “Oski, sit down”, once I have his attention, he sits very politely. This has been a eye opening and wondrous journey. We have enjoyed every minute of being with Oski, teaching him the rules of the house and see how much he has grown and matured in the almost 7 years he has shared his life with us. There may have been times, where we felt, he would never get it, other times amazed at the progress he makes. And through all our experiences, it has been so worth it.

For Every Life there is a Season

It has been quite awhile since I have written. As they say life happens. I want to catch you up since the last entry. We have lost 2 family members. Sadie (she is the one on the right in the photo), one of the Torties that came with the house. We didn't even realize she was sick until two weeks before she died. I noticed she wasn't eating as much. but she still had the same happy go lucky nature. When she seemed to grow listless, we took her to the vet in the morning, in the afternoon I received a call from our vet. They took tests and found she had cancer. That afternoon I stood next to Sadie in the vet's office as the vet helped release Sadie from her pain and quickly slipped from this world to the next. I was glad I could be there for her. It was sad and yet I felt a peace in the room when I knew Sadie left her body.

Rex our almost 8 year old bunny died a month ago. He was feisty all the way up this death. He went quick. I was able to hold him until he left his body. I was glad that he wasn't alone when he died. I am told from an animal's perspective, they don't have the same attachment to their physical body and they don't fear death the way we humans do.

Interesting things happened after he died. I started feeling him around me and I started hearing messages, like little suggestions. I started gravitating towards certain fruits. One time I was in a coffee place and I was going to buy a muffin and a latte. but as I was looking at the different options, I also noticed some bananas and a couple of apples displayed on a serving dish. I heard a voice that said "I think you will the find the banana much more tasty." So I bought the banana. Ironically, I am not the fan of the banana, but as I ate it, it actually tasted better than I remember. I said to myself "ok, Rex , this is for you." Sometimes I would go to the store next to my work and buy fruit for snacks instead of my usual sweets and I started eating more salads. A week later, we had our monthly meeting where I made a fruit sald that had a lot of the fruit that Rex enjoyed. Of course we had muffins and a sausage dish and I heard "try the fruit salad, you'll like it much better." So I did and I felt more present in the different flavors and my sense of taste seemed much more heightened. I felt like it was Rex communicating with me. Sometimes, like now, I can feel a cool energy lightly touching my left fore arm.

Soon after these experiences, I was riding on Bart to get to work and I started meditating. As I felt my body going into a deeper meditative state, I found myself in a field. A grassy field with a lot of yellow grasses around me and a big tree. As I looked around I saw a bunny running towards me--it was Rex. "I just wanted to show you where I live. I have a lot of bunny friends and I can run where ever I want. There is plenty of dandelion greens, they don't taste the same, but I don't get hungry anyway." We went to the big tree and I sat on the ground and supported my back against the tree. He sat next to me and laid his front paws on my legs. He told me he is glad I am eating more fruit because when I eat he can take in the flavor from the vibrations of what I eat. So that is why I am drawn to eating more fruits and vegatables. I enjoyed sharing space with him. I really felt present in his new home. It was peaceful. The temperature was pleasant. I gently stroked his head and ears the way I used to when he was in his body. I asked him if he would like to be one of my allies when I do my work with animals and he said yes. As I sat with him I felt like we were two old friends catching up. We didn't need to converse much, it was just comfortable sitting together. When it was time to say good bye, I saw another bunny coming up to me. This was a Rabbit walking upright. He was dressed very dapper wearing a tux with tails carrying a cane. It was my rabbit, an angora rabbit, Asher. He said it was time for them to go. I hugged both of them goodbye and came back in my body. it was nice.

A week later, I was just getting out of bed and I walked through the formal dining room that rex used as his room, where his cage was and I saw him for a brief second in solid form, stretched out on the floor the way he used to when he was relaxing. I wasn't alarmed, I just said telepathically "Hi Rex, glad you stopped by". That same week, David and I were in the second bedroom. this is where I have my computer set up, I was having trouble with some software and David was checking it over to find the problem. We have a mobile hanging from the ceiling. I happened to see it moving slightly. It never moves. So I said to myself, "Rex if you are there could you make it move faster?" Almost instantaneously, it started twirling. The mobile was behind David. I asked him if he could feel a breeze in here and he said no. I said "look the Mobile is turning I asked Rex if he was here to make it move and he did". David said "What a good little bunny." I take comfort that Rex and I are still connected through spirit. He seems to enjoy being in this form of energy. I think he likes the freedom to move where ever and when ever he wants.

Next up: The grieving process that the rest of the family went through and our animal communicator who helped us through this time.

Until then "Keep your eyes on the prize and keep reaching with your paws!"

Our Happy Family. Part 1-Fiona The Fearless

I have a great multi-species family. It consists of 5 felines, one house rabbit and one human husband. All the Fourlegged kids as I call them are rescues and yet they all co-exist very well. I am not saying that from time to time they don't squabble or may hiss and snarl at each other, but they know when to stop or they listen to me (who I believe they think of me as the "alpha cat"). Even the Cats in the house respect Rex, our 6 year old rabbit. It can be challenging at times but I feel that if you communicate with your Fourleggeds on a regular basis, any challenges can be neutralized or stopped. I titled this blog "The Paw Stops Here" as a take off on the expression--"The Buck Stops Here". We can no longer give into the belief that animals are beings with no consciousness, thoughts or feelings. It is our responsibility and privilege to care and nurture our Fourlegged with love, respect, companionship if we want a close relationship. And you don't abandon a family member because they are not the perfect cookie-cutter image you have of a specific being. You work with them and get outside guidance if necessary. I want to write our experiences of the great relationship my husband, David and I share with our multi-species family. We really love being together and "sharing space" a term I heard (your are correct, telepathically I heard this) from my first Fourlegged kid, Oscar--a beautifully marked brown tabby who had a presence of a old soul. People who didn't like cats loved him.

Because cats do like to have their own territory whether it is inside sitting on their favorite couch or sunbathing in the garden, like our Emma, they want to claim a place that is theirs, a sanctuary for them to be quiet and meditate or dream when they are napping. But if they have a trusted companion they will allow a friend to stay and nap with them in their special place. They may not sit or curl up next to each other, but they will be in the same close vacinity.

First, let me introduce you to the members in our household and then in the days to come, I will share the wonderfully amazing (to me) things that happen in our household every day. I can give you examples of cats, who are supposed to be independent, unresponsive beings who come when we call them. Who show us how they communicate their feelings to us in different ways. How we have gotten them to honor the boundaries in the house and how they honor each other, even a cat who was born outside and even though she prefers to stay outdoors will come into the house and though I have seen her be agressive with other outside cats is a perfect lady with the other 4-leggeds who live in the house, including Rex our bunny.

The Fourleggeds range from 2 to 10 years. Because they are all rescues, We only know of their approximate ages. The Babycat of the family is Fiona (the Fearless) who is two years old. Fiona came to live with us when we found her yowling up a storm underneath our front porch when she was aprox. two months old. She was so tiny, we thought she was a month old, but after a trip to the vet, it was determined that she was twice her age, she was just tiny. I call her Fiona the Fearless, because even though she was so tiny, when my husband David picked her up she didn't have a problem coming right into the house. Fiona is a Fluffy black cat with expressive round citrine colored eyes, small in stature, with a tuft of white fur in her chest area. I believe the white patch is a way of letting us know that one of our elder cats, Cleo who died a day earlier, had led Fiona to our house as a way to help us cope with our grief. Fiona is very dainty and feminine, fluffy with a very bushy tale that almost resembles a quill pen. She is very regal looking. But don't let the "fru-fru" look fool you, she loves to pounce on two of the other cats and she loves to play hunt. When she was younger, she loved using my husbands socks as her prey. She would carry her "prey" in her mouth through the house and then drop it and try to tear it a part with her teeth and claws. She will still occasionally find a lone sock and make the Prey call that she captured and show the other cats what a good hunter she is. Because she is so fast in reflexes and the graceful turns she makes when she is play hunting I believe she would be a good hunter if we let her go outside. She is independent like all cats are, but when ever I need to find out where she is all I have to do is call out "Where is my Fiona the Fearless" and she will saunter out where ever she is in the house. She learns quickly what the rules are and is pretty good at following the boundaries, but when it comes to food, she is quick to be first in line to receive treats and then it is every cat for herself. Although I will say if I need her to sit to get her treat as a way of not stealing the other cats treats, she will sit if I ask her to and keep talking to her to keep her focus. We do have a routine in the morning where she will call me through the bathroom door so I will let her in and then I sit down so she can sit in my lap. She likes me to inspect her ears, tail, her fur and her feet to make sure she is ready to start her day. She also likes it when I kiss the top of her head. I place 3 short kisses at a time. I wait a couple of seconds and then she moves her head back to tell me she wants me to give her some more kisses. It is such a cute ritual, but It makes me feel as if we are sharing some quality Kitty-Mommy time. I feel Fiona, like the other members in the family, really know we love them and respect who they are. They in turn do their best to follow the rules of the house. Next up: Oski the cat who is a cross between Bart Simpson and Dennis the Menace. Until then "keep your eyes on the prize and keep reaching with your paws!