Buns of Steel

Meanwhile, down the hall, these two were having a low-grade shoving match for the last crumbs of dinner. 😅

I wasn’t originally going to post this because I didn’t want to post what, to me, was a negative interaction, but I ultimately decided it was something I wanted to talk about. As cute as this may look, this was a rare, eviction-level event for Emet. We have one cardinal rule for the cats: Don’t Slap the Rabbits. Even though he kept his claws in and didn’t hurt her, we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to cat paws and rabbit faces. Rabbits investigate with their snoots, and there’s too much opportunity for an accidental claw to nick an eye or scratch a delicate ear. Normally in this situation, Emet is just inquisitive and will sniff and often lick Mystery’s face, which is why I had the camera rolling. This time, he was feeling possessive of his perch, and me, and wanted to shoo her away. This got him nudged from his seat, and escorted from the room at a walk. As much as I want to discourage the behavior, I also don’t believe in “punishing” animals through fear or force, and the last thing I want to do is build negative associations between him and the buns. All I needed to communicate to him was that this specific behavior was unwanted, and would get him immediately but gently removed from our presence/the situation. He was allowed to return to the room as soon as he wanted, and was loved on and fussed over when he did. He is 98% amazing at being polite with the buns, which is no easy task for a high prey and play drive cat. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen him wrangle his instincts and walk away when he desperately wanted to start slappin’, or drop a bear hug on some unsuspecting bun (usually Reo😅). This was a very, very rare instance when the paws were flying out of annoyance vs. play drive, so I felt it was extra important not to let it slide. I’m often asked about keeping cats and rabbits together, and it’s something I will advocate for freely. They are usually fantastic housemates! That doesn’t mean

“Now that you live here, we need to do something about your gross man-toenails.” Type-A Mae. 😅

Remember that time I taunted the universe by saying aloud that I wanted to sleep in a little today? Well now there’s a mouse in my bedroom that I can’t find, courtesy of my BELOVED CAT SON. Is he looking for said mouse? No. He’s running up and down the hall making every weird noise his vocal cords can make, as well as several that no mortal creature should be able produce. Meanwhile, sensing chaos like a bird senses North, Floppy has arrived, ready to do battle with every out of place item he can find. Monsters. I’m setting a Havahart trap, kicking everyone out, and closing the door. Me and the mouse are going back to sleep.

Poor Mae. She’s trying so hard. 😅 You can feel her “Are you f-ing kidding me?” vibes when he leaves her hanging, ungroomed, for the eightieth time. Despite his failure to acknowledge her requests for kisses, they’re doing fantastic. He literally tried to eat a cookie out of her mouth this morning, and as they were running around exploring the hall tonight, MoS and I caught a rare Lop Bink! For the last few days, the pen gate has been open for most of the day. They’re certainly not bonded yet, but there’s also zero aggression. As I am absolute garbage at bonding, this is truly fantastic. 😂

And here we have Dunkin’ Donut, submerging her whole-ass dewlap in her water dish. Every time. 🤦‍♀️

In which the lop receives a Moon Drop grape:

Tiny grape season is upon us! These are Mystery’s first champagne grapes. Mae insists that they are not food, and Floppy makes me hold the vine until he’s removed each individual grape, but she was just like “I’ll take that, thanks.”

Enjoy this clip with zero context. 🙂

Me on Saturday night: "I am SO sleeping in tomorrow." 8am Sunday - Get up to hit the bathroom, encounter lop at the edge off his rug, literally waiting for someone to hang out with. Welp, guess I'm up, and we're doing snacks. Anyone who thinks puppy eyes are irresistible has never seen Floppy's "wanna hang out?" face.

My offerings of balls and hay are being accepted, so we can rule out stasis, at least. He's grooming a LOT, too, so it's possible he's about to blow his coat.. I know that can take the wind out of their sails for a day or two. One good thing about it being the weekend is that I can just STARE AT HIM, ALL DAY. 🙃

Mowing his lawn. 😄 This is just a cat grass from PetSmart that I bought and planted.. every time it grows about five inches tall, I give it to him to mow. 😁 Note - Reposted so you couldn't hear half a conversation in the background 😅