Looking for ideas on how to make my bed & desk area bunny accessible

[Rae]

Hi all,

I am the proud owner of a 5 year old male lop, Gustavo. I’ve come to this forum frequently, and you guys have always offered great advice!

I’ve attempted to bond Gus to numerous different rabbits, and all have failed – he has made it adamantly clear he loves humans and doesn’t like other bunnies. So getting him a friend is out of the question. Plus I am not in the financial situation, nor housing situation, to be taking on any more pets.

I’m disabled, so getting down onto the floor to hang out with him is extremely hard and rarely happens. He hasn’t seemed to be bothered much by this, until recently I noticed he is following me around and whenever I stop walking, begins to scratch at my ankles and boop my feet with his snoot (his sign for pet me). He has also started to follow me into the bathroom and lay in between my feet, and when I am in the shower will lay on the bathmat and wait for me.

I’m looking for ideas on how to make giving him attention more accessible to me.

I spend most of my time either in bed, or at my desk. For my kitties this hasn’t been an issue – they can jump on the bed, and they have mini cat trees next to my desk for napping when I am there. But Gus is too little to do either of those things, and unless it is for the purpose of mischief, doesn’t seem to enjoy jumping on things.

I’m thinking of getting him some stairs for the bed, or even just putting my mattress on the ground, but I don’t know what to do for desk time. Anyone have ideas on some kind of platform cat tree type thing I could get him, similar to the kitties, so he can chill with me? I don’t mind bending down to pet him, but he asks for pets constantly and doesn’t want me to stop petting him, so if I could somehow raise him I would be able to pet him longer/more frequently.

Looking for any and all ideas on how to make my bed and my desk (mainly the latter) more accessible to Gustavo!

[LBJ10]

How high are we talking? Could you get one of those “houses” and put a ramp next to it so he can get up? My bunnies would readily go up a carpeted ramp.

[BrunosMama]

Hello!

I’m glad to hear it sounds like you made your long car journey with Gus and kitties successfully. 🙂

Its sweet he is so attached to you! Yes, some bunnies really do seem to prefer their human over other buns.

I was also thinking of a ramp or the little pet stairs. You could try a small footstool/ottoman type thing beside your desk so its comfy for him (and you, if you wanted to lean over to snuggle him or rest your arm while petting him).

You may have to show him the ramp/stairs and lead him up with a treat or something the first time or two. I’m sure once he realizes it gets him closer to the pets, though, he will be running up them often! 🙂

[Rae]

Hey!

Yes, we did make it to our destination with all paws and whiskers intact!

Full disclosure, I couldn’t handle the stress of the drive and made it about 4 states over before I just bought plane tickets – had to buy two extra for the kitties. They all did very well on the plane, though I will admit Gus might have chewed a hole in a hotel wall at one point! (And definitely ate through a landline cord)

All in all, just glad we made it home with everyone in tow.

I think the ottoman/footstool paired with a ramp or stairs of some kind is a great idea! I’ll start looking into that now. It’s exactly what I was looking for – some kind of bunny “cat tree” type setup. I know regular stairs scare him, but I’ve used a hay box from Oxbow as a step and he does great with that, so worst case I will just get a box as a halfway jumping point – doesn’t need to look pretty if it works!

Thanks again!

[Bam]

A carpeted (ie non-slippy) ramp is a great idea. It obviously can’t be too steep and it might take some time for him to try it out -buns can be like that, but he most likely will, eventually.

Beware though, if you do stuff on your desk on a computer or  anything else that has powered electrical cords, it could get risky, or at least inconvenient and expensive (laptop cords can be expensive). I’d say if your disability allows you to pet Gus with your foot/feet, that could actually be a better option for both of you.

I’m saying this because your Gus reminds me of my bun Yohio. After a bout of illness, he decided he and I were inseparable. He wanted me to pet him all the time, and I mean all the time. He came running as soon as he saw me and tried to push his head under my foot. When I was sitting at my writing desk, I had to continously pet him with my foot or he’d nip my heels. He wouldn’t take no for an answer, buns very rarely do. So, obviously, I pet him with my foot. It became automatic after a while, I could concentrate on whatever I was doing on my laptop and pet him at the same time. Yohio seemed quite fine with that.

Like Gus, Yohio wasn’t a fan of other buns. I tried many times to bond him and my other bun Bam, but it didnt work out at all.

Congrats on being so loved by Gus! It is an honor to be loved and trusted by a bun.

[Rae]

If I go the carpeted ramp/ottoman route as suggested, I will definitely invest in cord protectors all around for sure – both for Gus’ safety and my computer’s safety haha. I’m thinking of getting one that is slightly lower than my desk, still within reaching distance, so he would have to jump up to get onto the desk itself.

I agree that petting him with my feet is a better option, I’ll try that out next time he comes running over for pets. I have definitely utilized my feet for that before and he loves it, so I think that may solve the issue without having to risk cords and Gus’s safety. He just doesn’t go under my desk frequently, prefers to lay next to it and then once I stand chases me down for attention. Before investing in the other route, I’ll entice him under the desk with some treats and see if that fixes our issue.

Thank you!

[Author]

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