The Wonderful World of Rabbits

We have been living with Alvin for nearly 2 years now. This month marks his 2 year birthday.

We decided to get a rabbit because we couldn't have a dog and because I don't particularly like cats. We thought that having a rabbit would be the next best thing to having a dog but would be a lot easier and less responsibility. We could leave him on his own and he would generally take up less space and be less expensive.

Well, we got to the pet shop one evening after work, when I could not bear the suspense any longer. We got to the rabbits enclosure, and there, looking up at us was this tiny, cream rabbit with silvery blue patches and huge ears that just flopped in front of his face. He was literally a bundle.

The guy who worked in the shop informed us that this little guy was the last one they had and that we could come back in a few days when we would have more choice. As if I could leave him! And why, I wondered, was he the last one to be sold when he was just so so cute.

So he was bunged into a box and we took him home.

We decided to introduce him to his new home slowly, and so we sat the box in the middle of the living room and just opened it. Then we sat there and watched what he would do.

Nothing!

That little rabbit literally sat in that box for 2 hours! He took the odd sniff of the new air around him, but no, he was quite comfortable in that little box. It was his.

In then end, we tipped the box onto it's side and waited for the little guy to hop out. He took his time but eventually, very gingerly, he took his first steps.

Alvin, as we called him, then started making his mark on the place, literally, and we soon discovered where his favourite toilet places were so litter trays were positioned adequately, and little by little, as we discovered eaten wires and cables, and nibbled shoes, we rabbit-proofed the house.

The little chap settled in lovely and was so tame and friendly. He loved nothing more than to hop onto my knee and watch TV with me (as long as I was stroking his ears!)
He would get up on the back of the sofa and stroke my hair and lick my forehead - so so loving.

When his daddy (my partner) was doing DIY, Alvin just had to know what was going on and would help him out in his own special little way.

Whevener we had friends knock, he always had to answer the door first and find out who it was and what they wanted. He loved the attention that they showed him and loved showing off, doing pirouettes in the air and running full-speed like a locomotive back and forth through the house.

Yes, he settled in just fine.

Alvin is a house rabbit. He lives as one of the family. He goes to bed last thing at night when we go to bed. I pop him in his cage with some food, and usually he is more than happy til the morning when we wake him up. Like a child, sometimes he can't be bothered getting up and will remain lying down in his cage for a while longer. Other times he bombs it out of the cage and you see him running quickly to his litter tray!
He won't go to the loo in his cage - he's a very hygienic fluff. I've tried putting a litter tray in there for his own comfort, but after seeing he wouldn't use it, I took it out and freed up some space for him.

Alvin loves to be amongst us all, but he also has his own little places where he goes to be alone. They are special rabbit places like under the bed, or in some very small place behind a box or behind the sofa.

He also goes for little walks in the garden by himself and pretends to be really brave, eating grass and sniffing flowers, but the slightest movement or sound, he jumps up and runs back into the house. There he will start thumping his back foot to warn me that there might be a danger outside.

He is very protective of me too, and on the odd occasion one of our male friends has had to stay over, and Alvin has found them in the morning asleep on the sofa-bed, he has actually nipped them! That's the only time he has ever bitten anyone, and I can't be cross because he is just being lovely (and territorial!) and probably doing 'Daddy's job!

Alvin spends most of his day just nosying around and sniffing things. I think he looks for trouble when he wants attention as he only ever gets into trouble when we are around. He will start nibbling something he knows he shouldn't and then, when you shout at him, he will just turn round and start licking the nearest thing to him - a chair leg, a wall, a shoe. You can almost hear him saying 'what? no, don't be silly, I was just licking this shoe here. Honestly, Mum.’

Alvin is just the most affectionate little fella. He runs up to me and just does little circles round my feet. If I am ever stood for longer than a few seconds, he will come and position himself between my feet and lie-down, quite content.

If I am sat down, he will come and nestle himself as close as he can to my thigh, pressing his little body into the side of me.

If I stroke him, he will pay me back by licking my fingers. How special!

Hmmm… Alvin and my partner don’t exactly have the same relationship! I think they compete for my attention a bit and have a love hate relationship. I know they love each other because on the odd occasion that my partner has time to stroke Alvin, Alvin will grind his teeth happily, and will lick his generous stroker’s hand, affectionately.

However, Alvin does try to wind my boyfriend up a lot and will misbehave when I am around because he knows that I won’t shout at him. When I am not there, he will stay out of the way as he knows he will be shouted at if my boyfriend catches him doing something.

But when I am there, and Alvin is in his safe zone, he will push and push and push my partner and really try to cause an argument! What a clever bunny.

He is also very cheeky with him. When my partner is in his office working away, Alvin will approach the closed door. I will be in the next room doing something, thinking that Alvin is by my feet still. Then I will hear Alvin, scraping at the office door and then suddenly, by the time my partner has opened the door to shout at him, Alvin is already back at my feet licking the floor like he’s been there the whole time. He can repeat this several times before he gets told off!!

And Alvin has been known, when he is upset, to get up on our bed and wee on my partner’s pillow! Thankfully this has only happened twice so far!

I look down at him sometimes and just wonder what would have happened if he’d gone to someone else’s home, and if we hadn’t have got to the pet shop in time. Would he have the same little personality? And had we got a different rabbit, would they have the same character? I think not. Alvin is incredibly special and definitely has a very strong personality. Our life has definitely changed since we’ve had him. My boyfriend would tell you it’s changed for the worse, but I sit here now watching him as he passes Alvin a surprise baby sweetcorn and gives him a little rub behind the ears!!!!