Bunny Thankfulness

I asked the rabbits today what they were thankful for:

Calvin - "I'm thankful that my ear is better. I don't look like Caspian anymore, and I can wink my right eye again."

Julia - "I'm thankful for salads, treats, and long headrubs."

Caspian - "I'm thankful for Mama and all the love she gives me."

Conner - "I'm thankful that I didn't get eaten. I'm thankful that I got to have a great wife, Jenna, though I miss her."

Stew - "I'm thankful that I didn't get eaten, either, and I'm thankful that I'm in a nice big space where I can dance around and be my goofy self."

DeVille, Jake, and Heath - "We're glad we got our front teeth removed and got a great home with salads, hay, and other rabbits to watch."

Cadence - "I'm thankful that I got rescued from being outside, and I'm glad that I have a great Mama."

Napoleon and Debutante - "We're thankful for being able to live inside."

Mama - I'm thankful for all these great rabbits and a nice, quiet rental house for us to live in.

Mama

Update on Calvin

Well, Calvin has Horner's Syndrome, where pressure from an ear infection (that I didn't know he had) compresses the facial nerve. With antibiotics and massage (plus ear cleaning), we can hopefully reverse the pressure and have no lasting effects. The condition could get worse and lead to losing feeling in more of his face, so hopefully we can at least arrest the progression. We're doing a culture on some of the gunk that came from his ear, and hopefully that will tell us more. Cal's hanging with me at work right now and chillin' out. What a good bun!

Mama

Calvin - Stroke?

I noticed today that Calvin's right ear is drooping and he's not really moving it. It's not a Caspian lop sort of ear, but it's not an uppy ear anymore. Searching the Internet for info, the only thing that comes up is wry neck/head tilt, which could be from a stroke. He otherwise looks okay (well, his third eyelid has been more closed for a while, but he's not leaning or hopping in circles). I'm thinking he had a small stroke. He is over 8 years old, probably closer to 8 1/2 to 9, so a stroke wouldn't be out of the question.

Has anyone had an older bun with the same symptom?

Mama

He Said....

Wow! Julia is everything Mama said she was. I love her so much!! I grunted at her and danced around with joy. She was rather frigid with me, though, but I'm sure I can win her over. I gave her kisses around her face, showed her that I'd take good care of her by mounting her, and of course grunted at her to say "I love you" a lot of times. Julia seemed more interested in Mama than me. I've only ever loved one other woman, and Jenna would keep me on a tight leash. If I have to wear the pants in this new relationship, I hope Mama can help me figure out what I need to do. I even flopped down with happiness at one point on our date, though I was too excited and had to get right back up again. I'm trying to cover up the fact that I'm so shy, and I know I made some mistakes. But I can do better if Mama and Julia can give me a chance.

Conner

She Said....

Hmmm, I got put into a pen with this big, rude, fuzzy boy named Conner this afternoon. Talk about forward and crude! He even mounted me and talked nasty to me. I was not happy. I tried to hide behind Mama, and she'd put me back facing this oaf. She wanted me to assert myself, that Conner was a wuss and would be put in his place if I'd just smack him. I'm too much of a lady for that! I did put a damper on his running at me by lunging at him, and he at least listened to me (usually) when I put my head down for a grooming. He kept focusing on the area around my eyes, so that made me mad, too. Mama says we'll have other dates, and he had better learn some manners or else I'm going to turn him from an angora to a mini rex.

Julia

Mama Needs to Wake Up

I snuck onto the laptop today while Mama was at work. I see that she wrote two, TWO, posts about my horrible bath. Either Mama needs to take her ginko like Grampy does or else she needs to just get over this whole bath thing already and let me meet this Julia girl she keeps talking about.

Conner

One Bath Down....

...And one to go. Conner was a very good bunny during his first bath last week. The shampoo smells like coconut suntan lotion, so he was very delicious-smelling. I washed him in the kitchen sink because it was more contained and I have one of those sprayers beside the faucet. The sound of the sprayer freaked him out a bit, but he wasn't overly wiggly. I am glad I got the spray bottle of shampoo instead of trying to keep him still while I opened a regular bottle and poured shampoo into my hand. He'd have been gone in a flash if I'd have done that.

He'll have a touch-up trim and another bath either this weekend (supposed to warm up again into the 60s) or next week. Then he'll be ready to meet Julia.

Fingers are crossed!

Mama

Conner is Fine

Conner is adjusting to widowererhood pretty well. He got his first bath yesterday (no pics - he was just too pathetic looking), and the shampoo made him smell like coconut sunscreen. I have a few more places to trim on his fur to make the next bath go even better. Then he'll be all set to meet Julia. While I don't really think Conner was carrying anything on his fur from Jenna's illness, better safe than sorry.

Conner and I are going to cuddle for a while tonight, and hopefully I can trim those few spots. He looks so funny with such short fur on his sides and back, with his feet and belly still a bit long. He won't sit still well when I try to trim these areas, so it makes him look even odder.

Mama

Goodbye, Jenna

Yesterday and today, Jenna seemed worse - weak, not very active, and the sparkle had gone from her eye. I decided to make an appt. to have her euthanized tonight.

When I got home from work, Jenna had fallen onto her side at some point during the day and wasn't able to get up. So much like poor PJ had been. I set her upright, then gave her treats (carrots and craisins - she ate them, but still no "sparkle"). A few minutes later, I loaded her and Conner into the carrier and took them to the vet.

Jenna was very brave, and Conner was very supportive. He solicited attention while also staying near Jenna. Jenna went quietly, and she was peaceful. Conner lay with Jenna's body for a while after she had passed, and he went into the carrier when I offered it to him.

My vet has called with the necropsy results. It was a problem with Jenna's gut and liver, with a lot of fluid in her abdomen, the liver shrunken, and the intestines very swollen and stuff.

So far, Conner shows no signs of having caught anything from her, and I'll be scrubbing down their house this weekend to clean everything up. I'll clean the litterbox tomorrow and the extra hay etc. in the house, but the place will still smell like Jenna until I scrub it down. Hopefully that will help Conner cope with being alone again.

Jenna and PJ are together again. Hopefully they'll let Jessica hang out with them. Jenna was such a great wife and nurse to PJ, and she enjoyed being married to a young guy for a second husband. She loved using Conner as a pillow, draping herself over his middle, making a squished plus sign. She didn't need to intimidate Conner much - he fled from her glare alone. I'm glad I was able to give Jenna two loving husbands and (of course) a very loving Mama.

Mama