I had a bunny too. He was adorable, and very destructive! I moved him outside. He slept in his cage at night and ran around the backyard during the day. He was in love with my male golden retriever. He was about the size of my dog's snout. He followed him around all day. When the dog got in the pool, he would jump on his back, giving me a heart attack! If my cat came near him, he would chase him. Once he caught my cat and bit him. The cat was terrified of the bunny, but it was payback because when they were little, the cat used to chew on the bunny.
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Lol! Mine wasn't terribly destructive until after we rebuilt after Katrina.....though he really did like small speaker wires a lot.
He lived indoors exclusively for about 5 years. He and our daughter moved in with my mother while we were rebuilding and he had a room to himself and one wall was entirely glass.....basically giving him a view to the 'world'. When we got him moved back home, he did not appreciate being relegated to the utility room at night (he could not be in the rest of the house unsupervised) and showed his disapproval by scratching the sheetrock, chewing through my METAL dryer vent and finally chewing his way through the entire thickness of the sheetrock.....a hole bigger than my fist.
So I got hubby to build him a bunny condo outside. It was 8 x 8 chain link and 6 feet high with a metal roof, a sleeping platform and a cage off the ground and covered in case he wanted to hide in it and rolled up tarps on the outside walls that I could roll down and fasten shut if the wind was blowing rain in. He loved it. We brought him in to play and if the weather was too hot, too cold or stormy, but he preferred his bunny condo.
They really love speaker wires!Lol! Mine wasn't terribly destructive until after we rebuilt after Katrina.....though he really did like small speaker wires a lot.
He and our daughter moved in with my mother while we were rebuilding and he had a room to himself and one wall was entirely glass.....basically giving him a view to the 'world'. When we got him moved back home, he did not appreciate being relegated to the utility room at night (he could not be in the rest of the house unsupervised) and showed his disapproval by scratching the sheetrock, chewing through my METAL dryer vent and finally chewing his way through the entire thickness of the sheetrock.....a hole bigger than my fist.
So I got hubby to build him a bunny condo outside. It was 8 x 8 chain link and 6 feet high with a metal roof, a sleeping platform and a cage off the ground and covered in case he wanted to hide in it and rolled up tarps on the outside walls that I could roll down and fasten shut if the wind was blowing rain in. He loved it. We brought him in to play and if the weather was too hot, too cold or stormy, but he preferred his bunny condo.
I had to dig proof the edges of our yard some in the beginning but once he fell in love with the dog, he didn't want to leave.
Love your bunny story, sound like we both had bunnies with attitude
Unsupervised bunny I found leads to trouble, mine like to nibble on the silk flowers my FIL gave me...I didn't care for them much but the bunny loved them
Mine also chewed on all wires, until my daughter read about putting hot sauce on them - even that didn't work, found some plastic tubbing in Home Depot to protect them
My bunny would beg at the table for food, she really thought she was a small dog
My girls want to get another but a momma cat gave birth in my backyard and now with have a cat family
Unsupervised bunny I found leads to trouble, mine like to nibble on the silk flowers my FIL gave me...I didn't care for them much but the bunny loved them
Mine also chewed on all wires, until my daughter read about putting hot sauce on them - even that didn't work, found some plastic tubbing in Home Depot to protect them
My bunny would beg at the table for food, she really thought she was a small dog
My girls want to get another but a momma cat gave birth in my backyard and now with have a cat family
Lol! Mine wasn't terribly destructive until after we rebuilt after Katrina.....though he really did like small speaker wires a lot.
He and our daughter moved in with my mother while we were rebuilding and he had a room to himself and one wall was entirely glass.....basically giving him a view to the 'world'. When we got him moved back home, he did not appreciate being relegated to the utility room at night (he could not be in the rest of the house unsupervised) and showed his disapproval by scratching the sheetrock, chewing through my METAL dryer vent and finally chewing his way through the entire thickness of the sheetrock.....a hole bigger than my fist.
So I got hubby to build him a bunny condo outside. It was 8 x 8 chain link and 6 feet high with a metal roof, a sleeping platform and a cage off the ground and covered in case he wanted to hide in it and rolled up tarps on the outside walls that I could roll down and fasten shut if the wind was blowing rain in. He loved it. We brought him in to play and if the weather was too hot, too cold or stormy, but he preferred his bunny condo.
A momma cat gave birth in my back yard too. I'm trying to figure out how to convince them to stay! The kittens are big enough now to explore.
Lol! I had a squirrel years ago that would sit next to the dog and both would beg for food. The dog was patient, the squirrel was not. If you weren't fast enough he'd just scamper on up, help himself and take off with whatever he could grab. If there wasn't something for him to grab, like a French fry, he'd steal your napkin.
My girls convinced them, I got them all fixed and they take over my patio because they can't come in my house my husband is allergic
But when he is away on business, my girls have a cat party for a few hours
My middle one is planning on taking her favorite one with her to college, not going to burst her bubble and let her know she can't
Food!
If you want to make them house cats, and they are still under 8 weeks, if you bring them inside and start handling them every day, you should be able to socialize them. Better yet if you've already been handling them. If they are much older than that, and you haven't been handling them yet, they are usually past socializing for inside adoption.
If you just want them to hang around outside, I'd encourage you to try to find a local TNR (trap neuter return) organization that will help you trap the cats, get them a low-cost neuter, and return them to the neighborhood. It keeps the population down without them winding up in animal control... and what comes along with that. [emoji26]
Here's the litter that was born in the garage across the street last summer. I found and started handling them at about 1-3 days old. I intended to socialize them for adoption through a shelter.
This is when we brought them inside.
The gray one is with my cousin, the black one is with my brother, one of the tabbies is with my dad, and... what the heck is this trouble maker doing on the back of my couch???
This is when we brought them inside.
The gray one is with my cousin, the black one is with my brother, one of the tabbies is with my dad, and... what the heck is this trouble maker doing on the back of my couch???
I've already called the SPCA. They won't help trap the cats. They will rent me the traps. I'm not physically capable of lifting the traps so I can't do it by myself.
I've raised other feral cats but I can't get close to these. They are so cute though. There is another litter in another part of our yard. They come to our yard because we don't have any other pets at the moment, other than Charlie.
No, that's Dusty. He died a few years ago. Dusty kept stray cats out of our yard. Charlie is my tortoise.
The gray one looks exactly like a feral kitten we just trapped in our back yard about two weeks ago.
We socialized him, and he is turning into a great little guy. Trying to get the others, but they won't come. We'd love to spay/neuter them and the Mama who has at least one litter each spring or summer. Any tips would be appreciated. We have a woods in the back, so we can't leave the traps out at night. Racoons and possum go in.
The gray one looks exactly like a feral kitten we just trapped in our back yard about two weeks ago.
Search for local TNR orgs and/or low-cost spay/neuter clinics for ferals. The one near me actually had volunteers that helped us, and we used the traps for free.
The key to trapping is to hold off feeding for a day in advance if you or any of the neighbors feed them. If that's the case and you cut off their supply for a day (don't worry, they'll be fine) they'll be anxious to get the food in the traps. Use wet food or tuna. Partially cover the trap with a towel or blanket to obscure it a bit. When they get trapped, they will flail wildly, but if you cover the trap completely with a towel or blanket afterwards, most of them will calm down completely.