Saturday, June 30, 2012

Reluctant Houseguest.

The Old Salt had just brought a fresh glass of iced tea into the
office for me and was going back to the kitchen when he called
for me to come quick.  

I looked into the living room and saw the Old Salt watching two 
of our cats crouched on either side of a half grown rabbit. 
The tiny creature was no more than seven or eight inches long. 
Our slightly demented tortoiseshell female had apparently
carried it into the house through the cat door.  I was about to 
say something when the little fur-ball disappeared before my 
eyes.  I had no idea something so little and so still could 
suddenly move so fast.  Velvet, our torte, caught it in the corner
of the room and proudly returned it to our little circle of cats 
and people in front of the TV. The Old Salt and I quickly put the
cats in another room and returned to see if the rabbit was too
injured to save.  Of course it was gone again.  We knew it had to 
be in the living room or the kitchen. Those were its only avenues 
of escape.

After looking everywhere in both rooms including places most 
unlikely, we were asking ourselves if something so small could
have managed the cat door. Suddenly, the Old Salt called
"There it is" and I rushed over but could not see a thing.  
"Where" I asked.  "There on the floor in front of that wicker 
basket" was the reply.  Still I could not see it.  Then I was told
to follow the stream of light coming from the flashlight, and there
in the spotlight on the floor stretched out flat and wedged between 
the basket and a power strip, I finally saw the brown fur-ball. 
The Old Salt passed the flashlight to me and picked up the

frightened bunny as I grabbed the small camera that lives 
on the dining table.  If I had not been actively looking for him, 
I could have spent the day in that room without knowing he
 was there. 

This was our little reluctant  houseguest. 


We were amazed to find the baby rabbit did not have a scratch
on him. (or maybe her)  Apparently Velvet had carried the
rabbit as though it was a baby kitten without leaving a mark.
We released the little bit of fur in the field beyond our patio and
it hopped off into the night as if it had this sort of adventure
every day. 

Linking to Camera Critters


12 comments:

  1. Oh, my! I am so glad the cats didn't hurt the little thing, and that you managed to catch it and take him back "home"! He was so cute though! What an adventure!

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  2. Oh the poor wee thing at least it was unhurt, I think maybe your two cats were just looking after it. :))

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  3. What a cutie, love the bunnies.

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  4. Rita, I love the way you've narrated this story! Absolutely, a happy-ever-after ending ... tho' I wonder if Velvet wasn't a bit bummed.
    Have a great day!

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  5. Great story and so glad you were able to save him...my dogs are fond of killing baby rabbits and I get so mad at them for it....

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  6. Lovely critter guest. Late visit from Camera Critters.

    Gila Monster and Bees have a blessed Sunday.

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  7. Wow....nothing like bringing nature inside;)

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  8. If that little guy only knew how lucky he was!

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  9. What a frightening few moments! Wow! The poor little thing had to be terrified! I am so glad it made it through the ordeal and could be taken back outside.

    I had an incident when we lived in Texas. I had let the weeds get kind've high where I had planned to plant a garden. The day I went out there with a weeding tool, I was busy attacking the weeds with relish when I heard a little squeak. It was a baby rabbit I had hit with the tool. It was OK. So I left a weedy area around where I found it, and placed a circle of wire fence around it. A few days later, I heard a ruckus outside, and ran out to see a crow trying to get the poor little thing. The bunny ran straight for me (by accident of course) and I scooped it up and held it close. I didn't know how I was going to protect the sweet little thing, so I placed a board over the top of the fence circle. I knew it could get out of the fence, but I hoped it would mostly stay inside that circle and stay safe. I didn't want to block the fencing so the Mom couldn't get in and out. At night I would see the baby and Mom hopping all over my yard. Eventually she moved the baby bunny to another area. We owned a 95 pound Rhodesian Ridgeback then and the dog would stay outside during the day and come in only at night. So, I figured Mama Rabbit thought an area where the dog wasn't would be a better place to live. I always hoped the baby made it, and wasn't eaten by a crow or some other predator. I really disliked crows for some time after that, but I had to make myself get over it! :-) Nature is nature.

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  10. It's too bad that rabbits are food for so many. At least this little guy may at least get to grow up.

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  11. Awwww.... I love a happy ending! Thanks for sharing this. adorable story and I love bunnies!!!!!

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  12. Just reminded me of a time years ago when a goldfinch flew through our open window one morning -- I was late for work because I just had to rescue the poor thing, who was going crazy. (My boss wasn't real crazy about my excuse).

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