Dear George,
My name is Tutu and I am a lop-eared human - no, sorry, a lop-eared house bunny! My stable mate is Frederico the Cat. You may have met him already. I am 10 years old and he is a young whipper-snapper.
My humans seem to be very fond of him but he is a little b.....! I wish I could train him but he won't listen to me or obey anybody. Look at him in the photo. He thinks he's some great movie director!
What can I do? Can I trade him in? What do you think?
Hugs
Tutu
Dear Tutu
You have a bit of a problem.... Or you might have. Kittens brought up with house rabbits probably think of them as family and are probably going to be safe with them. Probably. That's the rub.
My attitude to rabbits, the natural cattitude, is to stalk, pounce, grab and eat them. In that order. It is literally hard wired into my brain. There's a neuroscientist, Jaak Panksepp, who has revealed that when you stimulate the seek-and-reward area of the brain, rats sniff and forage around, cats stalk and pounce. It's just the most enjoyable thing in life for felines. It is what a cat does.
So, your human shouldn't leave you alone with Frederico - just in case. (Any more than a large dog should be left alone with a baby or a toddler). Yes, it is probably safe almost all the time. But again it's that probably and almost. If you suddenly scuttled away extra fast, seeing you running might set off Frederico's chase instinct.
I don't think you should trade him in. As long as your human is sensible and doesn't let you play unsupervised, you will be safe. She should make sure that you are always in your crate or den when she is out of the house. Of course, if you were a giant rabbit, you could probaby chase and harass Frederico. But a French lop, which I think you are, just isn't big enough to turn the tables.
Cats and house rabbits can live together but only if the humans never forget that the cat is the predator and the rabbit is its prey.
Love (and I would love you in a gastronomic kind of way)
George
Dear George, I can not believe Tutu sent you a letter complaining about me! Even worse....she wants to trade me in! That's not fair at all!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE TUTU! I'd never hurt her - I just want to play. And our humans don't EVER let us unsupervised (which I wish they will sometimes):-)
They have a HUGE crate for Tutu and that's where she sleeps. And that's where she stays when they are not around. And I'm not allowed to "play dirty"! I'm quite jealous!
Frederico
Our beloved Oscar LOVED baby rabbits, but never seemed to catch the adults, but we have brown rabbits that are kind of large. I don't know if the flop ear bunny is smaller than our adult browns. But, I'm with you not leaving the cat unsupervised around that little bunny. You don't want him to end up lunch for the cat one day. That would be heart breaking.
ReplyDeleteDear Tutu....you are such a cute house bunny!
ReplyDeleteSooooo soft! I'd like to play with you too.
Can I visit?
Love
Shumba
PS. Frederico, it looks like you are very handsome (and relaxed)! May be I should really pay you a visit:-)
Tutu, you don look at all like the bunny that eats my tulips! Is it because you are a house bunny?
ReplyDeleteMinnie
You are so French, Tutu! That's why you are so chic :-)
ReplyDeletePorthos
Tutu, you look so cute and small. And....Frederico doesn't look like a threat!
ReplyDeleteIt must be fun to play together.
Love
Fluffy
Dear Tutu, I read past letters posted by Frederico on George's blog.
ReplyDeleteHe thinks he's somehow related to the late Federico Fellini, the great movie director.
That's why he thinks he's a movie director.
I'm sure he loves you and may be he wants to make you a movie star! If both of you are under constant your humans supervision (it seems you are - grrrr!)....then you're safe.
Tell you the truth....he looks quite relaxed and peaceful in the picture :-)
Relax Tutu, don't trade him in! Have fun :-)
Hugs
Cayenne
I don't think I would eat a bunny....but I would play with one! I love shrimps!
ReplyDeleteDiego
Dear Tutu. Under no circumstances trust a cat however well you think you know it. Remember the song "Never smile at a crocodile" and the words, " Don't be taken in by his friendly grin, he's imagining how well you'll fit beneath his skin." Kittens can be controlled as I controlled the Dottie. Cats, never!
ReplyDeleteLove Harvey
Dear Tutu,
ReplyDeleteMy word, you look absolutely delic--like a very pleasant conversationalist. I'll tell you what: you need a holiday from Frederico, and I daresay he could use one from you. A long one. Familiarity breeds contempt, and all that. Do come see me. I would be delighted to ea--have a lovely long chat with you.
In anticipation,
Puss-Puss.
Our ape Mum would love to have a house bunny or two. But she knows that any sweet bun entering this house would last all of five minutes. So, she sticks to visiting her friend who has two house bunnies, then comes home smelling of yummy bunnies.
ReplyDeleteWW