Update on George and Gemma

Angie said that being starved has left him a bit panicked where food is concerned, he had a light weight bowl at mine and when it was empty he would fling it all over the place.

He threw his bowl all over the place when it was full so I had pellets all over the lounge outside the run - then he couldn't reach them. Have given him a different bowl today and hasn't eaten many pellets at all. He has just got the excel now whereas before he had some SS in too that I had from Angie. I'll have to try and find somewhere locally that do SS as PAH doesn't. The outdoor buns will then be put on it too - I don't want to use different pellets as I don't have a lot of storage space.

Am wondering whether to try a third litter tray or if that will confuse him. The urine is soaking the floorboards even though there is a plastic backing on the rug. My George is one very messy bunny - just as well he's so loveable.

Will have lots of cuddle time later.

hi karen. if it were me . . . . . I dont know about a third tray as i dont think he understands he is supposed to be using one at all. I think just keep collecting up the poo and put it into the trays you have. Remove anything from them that looks like food in case he is thinking the trays are food bowls. Next time he has messed dont take the mess away put it into the trays showing him what you are doing. After a little while he will hopefully get the idea. also i dont know whether it might be an idea to remove the rug and replace it with an old towel or something so that the only places that he has the scent of his doings is the trays. This might be risky tho as he may pee to mark his territory again. But might be worth a try.

Are you using the same substrate in the trays as Angie was and have you put hay in them too? Sometimes they recognise the stuff they are supposed to wee on rather than the fact they are supposed to wee in a tray.

Hi

Have just managed to find Science Selective None in PAH, none in Pampurred Pets but our local garden centre has a pet bit and they had some - result!!! Just as well my hours are flexible as I have spent more time on George than on working this week! I am going to mix it with the Excel as Angie did so that I can give it to my outdoor buns too. George did eat the Excel when it was mixed with the SS. I also got him some healthier treats - dandelion and carrot, I think!

I am not working this evening so need to have a good sort out of George's run as it is a mess. I have been putting the droppings and the wet kitchen roll in his litter tray as suggested. I need to put something on the floor as I have bare boards with gaps in between and the urine is going down the gaps and obviously I can't clean it then without taking the floorboards up. I was also advised to have something for George to grip, although when I let him out of his pen he seems fine on the floorboards.

I am using exactly what Angie used - wood litter with hay on top. George is now urinating in a different corner from yesterday so I don't know where I would put a third tray anyway. He really does seem one confused little bun and I am so worried it is me doing something wrong and that if anyone else had homed him he would be fine and happier

I did remind myself this morning that it is very early days. I have a 'stray' cat who has been coming in for about two years. Initially, as soon as he saw me he ran away but now he sleeps on one of the radiator beds and lets me stroke him - but it took a Very Long Time and at one point I never thought he would trust me enough to let me touch him.

George loves being stroked but isn't keen on being held - even just on my lap. I get a sense he hadn't been handled much at all before going to rescue. He seemed OK at being kissed too, so he must like me a little bit!

Off out to clean my outdoor buns now and to give them some treats.

I think you have hit the nail on the head about him not having been handled too much. He may have been a bun that was dumped in a hutch and never touched once he got bigger. It would be a big shock to him to be picked up after that.

As for the litter tray dilemma, remember you've only had him a few days. He's getting used to you, your home, all the new smells and the run. As EllieMay said, you are just going to have to be really patient and remember, that it isn't anything that you are doing wrong, it is just him adjusting to you and that is something that can't be hurried.

I agree with everyone, please don't think you're at fault and he would be fine and happier with someone else.

I am sure the litter training will get more successful, he just sounds like a confused little bun at the moment and as has been said, litter training can go haywire when a bun moves to a new home. I've always understood that it is best to keep their area very confined until the litter training starts to settle, then you can gradually increase their space bit by bit.

Although my Rosie was a very friendly and cuddly girl, she never liked being lifted - any petting had to be done at floor level and on her terms! I'd maybe stick to not lifting George just now if he doens't like it, just till he settles in a bit more.

Good luck, you're doing a great job, and I'm sure he will start to wee where he's meant to very soon.

Have had a good evening with George. Put him free range in the lounge while I moved his run and everything in it, mopped the floor and put newspaper down before putting it back. I put him back and then hoovered the lounge and he was absolutely fine with the noise (no more excuses not to vaccuum )

He took the newspaper out of one of his trays very cleverly leaving the litter and hay behind. I bought him a nice new bowl today and he threw that around so all the food fell out.

I'd left the lounge door open while cleaning and some of the cats came in. I decided to leave them as they are wondering why they have been banned from the lounge as they are usually allowed in when I'm home. George kept standing on his hind legs to reach up towards one of them, Millie.

I had a really bad headache and felt sick so took some tablets and went upstairs to lay down but left all the doors open so I could hear if there was any fighting going on in the lounge. When I came down George had cleverly turned a flowerpot I put in to amuse him upside down and used it to climb out of the run onto my window seat and was there on a cushon right by Millie, who was totally chilled out with it.

I've just been sitting in the lounge with George and five cats and he really seems quite happy with them. I think he is used to cats.

I bought him a hay rack today - none of my other buns have used them, but I thought George should have one of his own - and he loves it. He was happily pulling the hay out like spaghetti and the run is much tidier now.

And - there are some beautifully formed bunny droppings in the second litter tray What a clever George.

Yay for droppings in the tray!

Well done George!

He sounds really lovely!!

It's great when cats and rabbits can live in harmony... sigh

ElleyMay is it your buns who sleep with your cat? I think it was someone on here who had them snuggled together and when I saw that I so hoped that would happen with George.

I do worry about leaving him as I work some evenings as well as during the day (single, huge mortgage and two not very well paid jobs). If he can get on with my cats - or even just one cat - I will feel happier about leaving him alone.

George seems totally confident with the cats - I think he must have lived with some before. He doesn't hide in his box but tries to peer over the run at them. Mittens was sleeping on George's box earlier and George was just flopped out in the run, quite happy.

In the summer I put my outdoor buns in the garden and they run free range with the cats. It is great to see. I don't feed the cats bunny flavoured cat food though - I think that may be tempting fate

Tori (my cat) and Brynn used to get along really well. When I got Hippo he snuggled with Tori too, but all of a sudden after the buns were bonded Hippo started charging at Tori and biting her (maybe being protective of Brynn or something) . It kind of sucks because now Tori is really scared (of both of them). She manages though. She has lots of high places to escape Hippo's wrath! haha I think it started as a dominance thing, but now I think Hippo is actually playing with Tori (although she doesn't realized it).

You would think it was the rabbits that need protecting, but seeing how aggressive rabbits can be makes you realize that the cats need to be safe too! If the cats are accepting of George and George is accepting of the cats you probably don't have anything to worry about. Hippo actually lived (and loved) with 4 cats in his foster home. One of them was a tiny little kitten and he was never the least bit aggressive with them. Don't let my story scare you. I'm pretty sure Hippo is a) crazy and b) acting this way because of Brynn.

What are your cats names?

What a shame - poor Tori. Something for me to think about as I am considering bonding George in the future if I think he is lonely.

I used to worry about my bunnies, rather than the cats, but having seen them interact I now think it is the cats who would come off worse. The bunnies chase the cats in the summer. They play for a while and when they get fed up they climb a tree and watch the bunnies from up high.

I had eight cats, but I think one, Tabitha, has moved out She had kittens a couple of years ago and once they were grown up they used to hiss and growl at her. I saw her a while ago and she was a good size so I am sure she has found a new home. She is microchipped but I would rather she is happy in a single cat home than miserable here but I do miss her lots.

Her 'husband' seems to have moved in with me though but but I haven't named him - yet. My other cats are Mogling my eldest furbaby who is 13, her daughters, Mischief and Millie (12), Tigger (2.5) (my only male cat and Tabitha's brother), and Tabitha's daughters, Mittens, Moppet and Megan (1.5). They are all neutered now so I won't be having the patter of tiny paws again. I never intended having so many cats but I am useless at rehoming kittens.

It's been a struggle at times but now they all get on and snuggle up together. I have little bundles of fur on my bed and on various cat beds around the house where I can't tell which cat is which.

I just hope George will fit into this mix, and am hopeful after watching the interaction last night. It is still very early days and I haven't started scent swapping yet.

I hope your little family start to get on a bit better. Your buns are beautiful.

Have just had morning cuddles and the newspaper is dry and the second litter tray had droppings and wet wooden litter.

Am not going to get too excited - George may get unsettled after his vet visit next week - but it is definitely a huge step in the right direction. George has been told what a clever boy he is and given a treat. He is now tucking into his breakfast. He definitely prefers SS pellets. Now I have found somewhere that sells them I will keep him on them as it makes him happy.

Bless his little furry paws. I can't believe he has only been here since Sunday. It feels like I have had him forever!!

really glad to hear it's going so well, and he's happy with his feline company They just need readjustment and settling in time.
I love that you've turned this thread into a blog, it'll be well useful for future new housebunny people

Yes, I am feeling a lot, lot happier now. I was so worried George wasn't happy and that was why he was messing everywhere but he does seem a content, laid back little bun who is very curious and loves life.

I did think this thread was getting a bit long but it really helps me to talk about George and get ideas from other bunny loving folk. If it's in the wrong place I am happy for it to be moved. And if any future housebunny owners can learn from George and I, that would be wonderful. I really underestimated how different I would find it from rescuing outdoor buns.

We have many more adventures to come. Going to the Vet next week and exploring the house and garden. And maybe finding a new Bunny Friend - but that is a long way off yet.

I can't remember Life Before George now - but I am sure it wasn't as much fun

Not in the wrong place at all We're going to write a piece on housebunnies for the care section, and will be needing this sort of info, and blogging the first few days has been brilliant, so please carry on

YAY for the Poo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm really enjoying this Bunny Soap. Keep it going.

I went in to check on George before I got ready for work and he was out of his run sitting on a pile of cushions on my window seat. I have absolutely no idea how he got there as the flowerpot he used yesterday is at the other end of the run now. I picked him up and popped him back in the run.

Went back to see if he had eaten his breakfast before I went to work and he was back on the cushions again. I then had two choices - I could either try and block off the top of the run somehow or see how he goes being able to get out. I had a look at my curtains - they are old, but I do like them - and then at George - looking so comfy flopped on the cushions - and George won. I can always get some curtains from a charity shop if he chews them.

I've just come home for an hour and he is still there but has clearly been back in his run as most of his pellets have gone. The cushions look clean and dry so hopefully he is using his trays still. I'm wondering if he was looking for Millie who was up there last night. The cats aren't allowed in the lounge when I am out as it is the only room reasonably OK for visitors.

George can see out of the window and looks very happy in his new seat so I am leaving him to see where he goes next. I need to make sure my houseplants aren't dangerous to him though. What ones are OK for buns? I think somewhere I read that cacti are OK?

I've just been to Tesco and bought a basil plant for George to nibble and then realised it's not on Angie's list of food George has tried. Is basil OK for buns?

Katie is coming over to meet George on Sunday. She will be his first visitor as I wanted him to get used to me first and it's best his first 'stranger' is someone who is used to buns and loves them. I do have friends who want to meet him though so George will be getting used to new people soon.

I do feel much happier about him now. He looks so cute flopped on the cushions. I am getting broadband (only have dial-up at the moment) so should be able to put photos on soon (once I learn how).

i am so loving the george updates! Also having a bit of a chuckle at him getting you right where if wants you already. Ha ha ha ha. He is obviously very happy in his new home. What a lucky boy he is. X x x x

Having me right where he wants me? I don't know what you mean, Katie. I said when I met Daisy B I was not having a bun that wrapped me around his tiny paws. I would be Boss - and George knows that. I am happy for him to lay on my cushions (and make a small puddle on one of them It was due for a wash anyway!)

He is back in his run now and has nibbled his basil plant - so hopefully it is OK for buns. He does look a little like he is planning what mischief to get up to next though - but I am sure that is not the case! I don't want my own Demon in a Bunny Suit - I am more than happy to come and share yours!

ha ha ha ha - yea yea.

had to pop on to see if he had been good while you were out .. ..did he eat your curtains ??