The Dominant Shoe is on the Other Foot

[MimzMum]

Okay, before I went and tried to combine Mimzy and Pip’s cages about two or three weeks ago (?) the two bunnies were getting along in a champion fashion. I was sure they were ready to share one dwelling. (They’d been going through the bonding process for a few months.)

I was used to seeing Mimzy doing his best to let Pip know who was boss. I admit, I would break it up if he mounted her face, as I didn’t want to see him get bitten, but for the most part, there wasn’t much of that and they settled down almost immediately to a grooming and cuddling routine.

When the combined cage system didn’t work, I replaced Pip’s cage on top of Mimzy’s (the only way they fit in that room) and thought, well, we’ll start over. Now I am beginning to think that, since Pip has been living in my room with Mimzy and I, and she must know she has ‘the Penthouse’, maybe she is thinking she is the boss bun?

Now, it is Pip who does the facial mounting when they are together, and she tends to nip him on the bum or flank quite often. So far, I am lucky she hasn’t broken skin, but I am afraid it is just a matter of time. Should I then halt the bonding process and just resign myself to the idea that they are not going to get along? Or is this just one step in the whole dance? They still groom each other, although Mimzy presents much more often than Pip and she simply won’t comply anymore.

I still see them grooming…it just doesn’t have that real cozy feel it used to.

What should I do?

 

P.S. Oh, and one other thing. But I kind of doubt it holds any water. During this time I got another Binky Box. It had been full of hays and mats and so on, and it was such a nice box, I decided to add it to the xpen as a plaything. Pip immediately claimed it for her own and soundly thumped whenever Mimzy tried to go in there (not that this stopped him). There was finally so much thumping going on, and a bit of chasing, that I decided to remove the box. Is it possible that they scented the other bunnies (Jennifer’s) and this may have set off the territorial thing again? I don’t know if BB packs the boxes in her apartment or if they are put together elsewhere, but I wonder why this box made Pip so angry and yet the others I’ve gotten from Binky didn’t seem to. It was just kind of weird.

[MarkBun]

If they are actually grooming each other, it is an extremely good sign that they will eventually get along. Do realize though that even the best bonded buns will sometimes get into tiffs. I find a small tuft of Dono fur about once every other week that I’m sure that Maryann has pulled out.

The box stuff was more about Pip trying to say, “MINE!” It had nothing to do with another bun. She was just trying to be greedy.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Yeh, I have to second that; Kokanee and Kahlua have an incredible bond. They bonded in literally two seconds, they groom each other, sleep together and I can even seperate them for lengths of time (ie. to bath Kokanee when she was sick, or take Kahlua out visiting) and they have no problems reuniting at all. But I have seen them scuffle before. Nothing serious. Maybe lovers quarrels

[MimzMum]

Thanks guys! I sure hope that’s all it is. Poor Mimz seems quite flustered. He misses his daily grooming when Pippi seems to uppity to provide it.
I should probably scour the xpen and some of the items I put in it to make it a little more ‘neutral’ perhaps?

I don’t mind a lover’s quarrel. BTDT myself MANY times. I’m just not so sure she wouldn’t bite him hard enough to break skin and that’s what scares me.
Pippi was in a sour mood most of the night. (Probably because she got squirted a few times with the spray bottle.) She overturned her litter box so many times I just dumped some litter on the floor for her to use and I actually had to remove her sleeping box and her toy ‘snuggle bunny’. She quieted right down after that and then Mimzy started doing the same thing. I think I got maybe three hours of sleep last night with all their racket? 0.o

[Author]

Messages