Bonding Constantly in Different Stages

[Toni-Montana]

In the beginning he was very shy. Now he has a lot of sass and he’s an official house rabbit but before I took him to my parents and he LOVED it over there. He did so many binkies and he also liked our cat. We also had a huge connection. He was marking his territory with droppings and I would scold him but I realized that was wrong to do. So I watched him do it again and this time he was trying to hide it by stretching his body and when he left to go lounge somwhere else, he actually let me pet him and it was the greatest thing ever but it was very late too, like 1am. I had stayed up with him.

When I had cat-sitted for my parents at my place he did a ton of binkies everyday and he did them around my cat who’s very old and so my kitty would just swat at him with his declawed fluffy paws

Today when I move slowly to pet him while he’s lounging, he runs away or he recoils into a ball and has his head down and eyes half open. He only lets me do this for several seconds and sometimes I even end the petting early because I’m not sure he enjoys it. He still runs around in the house but no binkies and whereever I’m at, he’ll nudge my feet or nuzzle them and when I’m laying down he nuzzle/nudges my arms so Idk if this means he likes me or if he is just investigating. He also licks my slippers and blankets but never me. I give him treats too but he still has food agression.

Should I get him another companion? I try to bond but he’s not that active until I go to sleep or when it’s early in the morning and I’m just waking up.

[Love4Bunny]

My girl sounds like this. Carpeted floors help rabbits gain traction, so that might be the difference.

It sounds like your rabbit likes you, but is shy. Nudging means “move over” or “pet me”.

Licking objects near you/ clothes is a good sign. It means they like you, or whatever food is on your hands. Crysta never licks me, but Thor will, and it’s usually their personality, and not a sign that they hate you.

I don’t know too much about food aggression, but I would distract him, and then place his food bowl in a different area. Or scatter feed. You just don’t want to get your hand stuck in the middle, so I would sprinkle the food in the cage. Just try different tactics and see which ones work better.

Yep, that sounds like a bunny schedule. They’re most active when we’re winding down, or at the crack of dawn.

Just remain consistent and patient. You can always bond a second rabbit at a later time, but it’s best to really get to know your rabbit, especially if you haven’t had him too long.

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