Hi everyone – It’s been ages since I was on and have a ton of updates.
We lost Coco on the last day of June this year. I think she was around nine years of age and lived an amazing rabbit life. I could sense that something was not right with her and despite my best efforts with critical care and feeding, she died right before midnight on June 30th.
I held her as she had the three seizures, then exhaled her last. She was grooming me until just about the end.
Jackson, her bonded husbun, has not taken this loss well. He is eating just fine ( nothing puts Jackson off his food) but has been extra aggressive towards me. I’ve done what I can – He spent time with her body post death so he knows she is no longer with us. I spend time on the floor trying to coax him to me for nose rubs. I bring exciting treats, which he snatches and runs away with. I talk to him all the time (Their litter pans are in my bedroom and they were always free range). I have summers off, as I am a professor, so I am with him lots.
Jackson was never a people person. We got him when he was @4 or 5 months and he was devoted to Coco from the time they bonded. Coco was my people girl – She loved me and Jackson tolerated me.
So now I am left with a rabbit who doesn’t seem to like me very much.
Every morning I greet him and scratch the rug next to his Maze haven to see if he will pop out for nose scritches ( answer, almost never). This morning, he began to pop out..then lunged and bit my finger. Hard. Instant blood drawn. I’ve never been bitten before – nipped by Jackson, or he does a scratch paw thing to say “Leave me alone”, but never bitten. I yelped and he moved forward again to smell me.
Then he retreated.
If I am lucky, he will allow me to groom him late in the evening ( @ 11 p.m) for a little while. He will come for some dried strawberry if I shake this container. Otherwise, he is like an angry hermit rabbit.
He does, ironically, like the cat. When Mischa is in the room, Jackson will come out and sniff him and offer himself for grooming. Mischa ignores that request. When I attempt to offer to groom, Jackson retreats.
Am I doomed for the next 8 years to live with a miserable rabbit? And no, a new mate is not an option for us at this point. My semester is starting and I do not have the time/energy/emotional fortitude to bond a new pair. Plus, I must admit that I am heartbroken at the loss of Coco. Is this just rabbit grief? Will a non human oriented bun ever decide that I am all right?