Baby Scout: a lesson

Baby Scout passed away, suddenly, last Thursday morning. Aaron had an interview Wednesday (and by the way he got the job!) so we ended up spending most of the day/evening at my in-law's house. When we got home, we found that Scout had a case of pretty severe diarrhea. It was late, and our vet wasn't open. Neither was the local feed store (where we hoped to find some meds). Throughout the rest of that night, I syringed him water every few hours and gently cleaned up his bum and feet as best I could with a warm washcloth. He was still drinking and eating (a little) so we were really hoping that he would pull through.

When Aaron woke up the next morning, Scout had passed away. I had checked on him at 5am, so he apparently died sometime between then and 7:30. Elliot didn't notice right away, not until Aaron went to take him outside to bury him. When he did, Aaron told him that he was just sleeping and that he was taking him outside so that the wild bunnies could make him better. Now, I know some of you might chastise me for not taking this opportunity to teach my son about life and death and the ways of the world. Well, call me crazy but I just can't fathom a way of describing such a sad, terrible thing to a little boy who turned three only a few months ago. There will be other opportunities, I'm sure he'll learn eventually... but for now, it comforts me knowing that although he misses his "baby bunny" terribly, Elliot is confident that the wild bunnies have brought him into their home (he says they have a house in the woods) and that they're taking great care of him. He talks about this often, and it makes me smile. Oh, to be that innocent!

You might be wondering why I'm writing about this. Well, there are a few lessons to be learned here.

1. Scout was only nine weeks old when he died. He was about six weeks old when he came home with us, which leads me to believe he was probably weaned at only 5 weeks old. The sad part is, he probably wouldn't have died if the breeder had left him with his mother for only a week or so longer. So many rabbit breeders yank baby bunnies away from their mothers and force them to wean before they are truly ready, and it can wreak havoc on a tiny baby bunny's digestive system. Rabbits have sensitive digestive systems to begin with, and when you add weaning too early to the stress of moving to a new home full of strange smells and sounds and you basically have a recipe for disaster. PLEASE do not buy a baby bunny under eight weeks old! 
2. While diarrhea sometimes goes away on its own for dogs and cats, it is often FATAL for rabbits. Rabbits dehydrate quickly, and they need to have food in their stomachs constantly in order to prevent their digestive system from completely shutting down. If your rabbit develops diarrhea, please take him to the vet as soon as possible. We planned to wait until the morning for take Scout to our vet... and by the morning, it was too late. 

Easter is coming, which means parents all over the world are rushing out and buying their children baby bunnies on impulse without knowing a single thing about their proper care or diet. Please if you're thinking about bringing a rabbit into your household, do some research!

Rabbits can be WONDERFUL pets, but:

• they require as much care as a dog or a cat
• they need very large cages and ample time outside of the cage every day
• they do NOT do well kept in outdoor hutches, where they are susceptible to predators, weather extremes, and receive very little socialization or exercise
• they have very specific diets 
• in order to live long and healthy lives and to prevent behavioral problems, they need to be spayed or neutered
• they (generally) do not enjoy being picked up or carried around (especially not by small children)
• and above all else, they are prey animals who hide illness very well. Diarrhea or any others signs of illness should be considered an emergency and unless you are a rabbit expert, you should take your rabbit to a vet immediately or else they might not survive the next 24 hours.

The best rabbit resource out there (in my opinion) is The House Rabbit Society. They always have the most up to date, correct information about practically any subject of rabbit care that you could think of. Check their website out :)

meet the bunnies

When your family is full of animal lovers, a year and a half in a pet-free apartment complex feels like an eternity! I'm sure it came as no surprise that we brought home the first fluffy member of our new family only a few days after receiving the keys to our new home- and before our furniture was even delivered! We were exploring a feed store in town when we fell in love with a 3.5 month old checkered giant rabbit, who Elliot named Noah.

Rabbits are highly social animals and do better in pairs than on their own. So we knew we should probably get him a friend. We had an adorable english lop for a few days, but she was not a male, as the breeder said, but a female. She was also four months old (so possibly able to get pregnant!) and Noah wouldn't leave her alone. In fact, she even had little scabs on her shoulder blades from all his *ahem* loving. We ended up giving her back and making an appointment to have Noah neutered. 

A week after Noah's surgery, we were back in the same feed store, picking up more hay, when I stumbled upon a big cage full of TEN of the tiniest, fluffiest little baby bunnies you've ever seen. I squealed like a little girl- literally. They were all so sweet and cuddly, Aaron knew before I did that we would be bringing one home. An hour later (they were all so cute and colorful!) I finally picked out "the one".

Scout is just about nine weeks old now, and a lionhead-rex mix. He is a typical baby bunny- so a little nervous, particularly of crazy Emmett, but he's also very sweet. It will probably take him awhile to warm up as much as Noah has. After all, EVERYTHING is huge to him. But that's okay with us because Noah is super friendly- he follows us all around the house like a dog and just LOVES being petted.

Noah and Scout get along fabulously- I think the combination of  Noah's neuter (and therefore less hormones) and the fact that Scout was such a young baby made the introduction a breeze. They took to each other instantly. Usually, they sleep right next to each other in their cage and follow one another around the house. Believe it or not, Noah actually has gotten even more outgoing now that he has a little roommate!

You can expect to see more of the bunnies around the blog from now on ;) and I will probably do some bunny care and FAQ posts, too. 

a little boy's best friend

The little white kitty we brought home last week is now eight weeks old, and we renamed him Charlie. Well, according to Aaron, his full name is "Charles Xavier," like in X-MEN. Yes, my husband's a bit of a geek. I've just been calling him Charlie, though.
He and Elliot are getting along fabulously. They're like two peas in a pod. They do EVERYTHING together! Anywhere Elliot goes, Charlie is right behind him. If Elliot cries, Charlie cries. If Elliot's napping, Charlie is curled up into a ball somewhere nearby. It's really ridiculously adorable.
Before we brought him home, I always wondered how a cat would get along with a baby versus a dog... and apparently, I had nothing to worry about. Elliot is sometimes a little rough... patting hitting him when he's excited, pulling on his ears and tail, and he always crawls over and steals whatever toy poor Charlie is playing with. "Gentle, be gentle, be nice Elliot, play nice with the kitty, don't hurt Charlie..." those are frequent phrases in our household. Charlie has never once tried to bite, scratch, or even run away from Elliot, though. He takes it all like a champ. Don't worry- Elliot isn't ALWAYS so, uh, excited around the kitty. Whenever Charlie comes up to him, Elliot almost always greets him with a gentle hug. He also likes to copy me and pet "his" kitty, which Charlie clearly loves, judging by all the purring.
Elliot and Charlie are best friends.









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