It's already 6am but I felt inspired to write a disgusting blog post about
Igloo!!
Who knew bunnies could be so awesome? It has been a few months now that I've had Igloo and she makes me so happy I can't even... Compared to nasty Pumpkin**, I'm just so super grateful that this relationship turned out this way.
(**if you didn't know, bought a Yorkshire terrier, she didn't like me and I didn't like her, after 1 year of trying to love her, gave her away to responsible rich loving new owners, got scolded like mad by moralistic superior dog lovers who kept rubbing in my face how
THEIR dog loves them.)
I bought Igloo because she was so freaking cute when she was a baby and I had a bout of maternal instincts insanity. I thought for the rest of her life she'd have to live in a cage like most of the pet bunnies I've seen people have.
But one fine day I thought to myself,
"Hey, people have said that bunnies can be toilet trained so I'm just gonna give it a try."So I just opened her kitty-litter-filled cage and shut my Princess room door to let her explore around. I wanted to monitor and see if she goes back to the cage to eliminate. She had no prior "training" other than the fact that she's always been doing her business in that cage since, well, she was locked up in it. So of course I was totally skeptical.
To my huge surprise hours passed and I see her occasionally hop back to the cage to eliminate. And then a day passed. No poop droppings outside her cage,
NOT A SINGLE ONE. And bunnies poop
A LOT.I was so happy at that point I could almost die! Within a day, with no effort on my part whatsoever, I
KNEW I could trust her. She could now have the whole room to roam around in, something I desperately wanted Pumpkin to be able to do but never accomplished.
I spent 1 whole year training Pumpkin, looking at her for hours on end, giving her treats when she goes back to the correct place to do her business, scolding her when she does it wrong.
I know irritating dog lovers will now tell me my training possibly sucked balls and how their dogs do it correct all the time.
But trust me, I tried every possible method. I used newspapers shrinking in surface area. I tried pee pads. I tried treats, I tried spankings (OH YES I DID DOG LOVERS, WHATCHA GONNA DO ABOUT THAT?), I tried stern voices, I tried pee sprays, I tried bringing her out frequently on walks, I tried spaying, I tried spending hundreds and hundreds on products and eventually even diapers... But the diapers have a hole for tails and her poop drops out of it... In the wrong places.
You have no idea how frustrating and stressful it is to let your dog out of her pen and just KNOW she is going to make a mistake. It's not so much the cleaning up, more of the disappointment. WHAT AM I DOING WRONGLY? At the end of the day Pumpkin went back to her pee pads to do her business about 80% of the time correct. This means, if I let her out of her pen, out of 5 times she pees/poops, once she will do it wrong.
I suspect that she is doing it just out of pure spite because she would actually LOOK at me with those hypocritical puppy eyes and spray pee on my carpet. She would then run away, scared, as she anticipates my tidal wave of fury. I wasn't ignoring her, so it wasn't for attention. Maybe she has her reasons but who knows? She's just an evil cunt from hell, I swear, sent here to test my patience and put a dent on my otherwise dandy life.
If she had other redeeming qualities it won't be so bad, I can still accept this flaw of hers but no... She is super hyperactive and never allows hugs or cuddles without nipping, struggling or loads of slobbery licks. Maybe some people like their dogs rambunctious but I hated it. I wanted a calm, cuddly pet. Not super charged up as if high on red bull all the time. She bites and destroys everything in her path even though she has a hundred toys (trust me I spoilt her). Even Kaykay who took care of her for me for a few days hated her. Mike too, hated her.
Worst of all she doesn't love me. Don't ask me how I know, I just do. And that's fine, because I didn't love her too. I had affection for her - afterall she is very cute and has her moments, but to call that 'love' is an insult to the real, unadulterated love people have for their pets who love them back.
But I've complained about all these before. This blog entry is not about Pumpkin the bitch, it's about Igloo.
So when people tell me how much their dog loves them, it always gets me so jealous. "What is wrong with me? Am I such a terrible human being that no animal can love me?" I wondered for the longest time, miserable. I wanted that relationship, and now......... I have it!
I do, finally! There is nothing wrong with me afterall! Pumpkin and I were just not a good match.
(Also I think Nanolove loved me but she is a tiny hammie and it's harder to tell with a hammie.)
So yes after that day of allowing Igloo to go out of her cage, I've since went to the pet shop to buy fences and a smaller kitty litter pan for her, meant for cats.
When I'm sleeping or if I'm out, I fence up half of the room so she can't bite wires for hours on end and electrocute herself. She hasn't done that yet so far, but I don't want to take the risk. When I'm home, she gets the whole room. I even sometimes let her roam around the living room!!
Sometimes she hits under the daybed to snooze because bunnies like the dark.
Other times she sits close to me as I use the computer, like a dog would, just lying close or grooming herself.
Pumpkin never used to do that. She'd always escape out of sight and be destroying something in the living room or kitchen.
Sometimes she hops around, sniffing at stuff and standing up when curious. And when she is happy, she does binkies, which is truly a sight to behold.
When I call her, she hops over to my side. If I sit down on the floor, she comes close and snuggles, hoping I will scratch her ears.
Have you ever had a bunny put her front paws on your lap and look up at you before??Whenever I am getting ready to go out and putting on makeup she squeezes right between my feet and lies there flat to sleep. I don't even want to go out anymore because I don't want to wake her up. ♥
If I'm using the computer for too long and ignoring her, she'd nudge my feet with her nose or paws.
She loves feet stroking lol
I love how easy her companionship is. I don't know how bunnies usually behave, but the fact that when she sees me near she comes quietly sit close to me is PERFECT. To me a dog's excitement is a bit too overzealous and annoying. Tail wagging is fine, but please don't stand up on my chest, lick nonstop, sprint around or bark and pant like mad. Too aloof is no good too - lying quietly down by my side is just the right balance. :)
She follows me as I leave the room and waits by the door when I come back. Not always, but often.
I feel so looooooooved. So this is why people are so mad about their pets!
If I knew bunnies could be awesome I would have bought one long ago wtf. I suppose different species of animals suit different people, and my character/lifestyle is just more suited for buns?
Anyway, if you are thinking of buying a pet and don't know what sort of animal to get, here is why bunnies are like, the best pets ever:
1) They shit literally doesn't stink. It's dry pellets. Many of them, but not smelly. They also poop soft poop sometimes but they promptly eat those. It's in their nature because soft poop means it wasn't digested well and needs to go one more cycle. Fine by me, it's not like bunnies can have stinky breath so eat away! I don't have to clean it muahaha.
2) Their pee is smelly, not as bad as cats, but I don't know if the kitty litter I'm using is awesomesauce or what... After being absorbed by the litter it doesn't stink anymore!! I change the litter once every 2 or 3 days, which is super little work compared to cleaning up after dogs or even cats. Hammies are even better though, I cleaned Nanolove's pee pan once every week!
3) Bunnies are
VERY clean by nature.
You don't
ever have to bathe them. They are bathing themselves all the time!! Igloo always smells and feels clean. :D Being clean, of course, also affects how fastidious they are about their eliminating habits.
I remember the days of bathing Pumpkin and Cloudy and having to pluck bits of shit off their asshole stuck to the fur whenever I bathe them. URGHHHHHHHH. No more cleaning eye shit or assholes for me!
4) Bunnies don't really shed, unless you get an angora bunny or something similarly fluffy. Igloo's fur is very downy so when she drops hair, it just forms a fluffy hairball on the floor, which looks like lint. I actually wanted a cat but cats all shed a lot and I didn't want hairs all over my clothes all the time. I don't know how cat ladies with 20 cats deal with all the cat hair!!
5) Bunnies are so F-ing cute!! I suppose this is subjective. To be fair I think a lot of bunnies become quite ugly after they become adults, compared to how cute they were as a baby. I actually think Netherlands dwarf adults are not cute :X coz their faces are so long. Pick your poison!
But holland lops remain cute forever!! Ok fine this is subjective too. But who can honestly say that a bunny washing its ears or standing on hind legs is not cute?! Or when they sneeze or yawn... OMG. And bunnies are so soft and fluffy all over!
6) Bunnies do not make noise. No barking, no yowling. They are 100% quiet.
7) When dogs lick you: OMG FUCK OFF YOUR SALIVA IS SO WET AND IT STINKS.
When a cat licks you: OMG COOL YOUR TONGUE IS SO DRY AND PRICKLY AHAHAHA.
When a bunny licks you: OMGOMGOMG YOUR TONGUE IS SO TINY AND CUTE AND DARTY AND YOU LOVE ME!! AW I LOVE YOU TOO!!
*I might be a bit biased against dogs*
8) Bunnies can be trained. Perhaps you have seen youtube videos of bunnies doing competitive hurdles. They are very smart! At home, you can train you bun to come when called and stand on hind legs on command. My friend Rykiel who bought Igloo's sister actually trained her bunny stand up on hind legs to 'kiss' her on the cheek. Can anything be cuter?!
9) Bunnies are expressive too! Bunnies always appear so stoic but they have their little ways of showing affection, just like a dog wagging its tail or a cat purring. They do binkies when happy. When I first saw Igloo doing binkies I was so amazed I felt like I witnessed a leprechaun.
If you have won over your bun's love, he will groom you with licks, which will not be readily given to any stranger. When getting scratched/pet, they sometimes grind their teeth softly in contentment and close their eyes. But I guess cats win this category of showing love coz they knead your tummy fats with their paws which is super cute. Ok fine, a dog can wait around in train stations for 8 years for dead owners to return. But I'm just saying bunnies express love too!
10) Even their food is pleasant!! They eat dry pellets which are not smelly. Also hay, which smells super nice. And they nom on things like freaking roses wtf. Because I want to get veggies for Igloo to eat I also tend to cook more veggies for myself to eat, which is awesome. :)
Of course bunnies have their bad points too, and here are some:
1) Bunnies bite stuff.
Their idea of a fun time is to burrow in stuff, dig, and chew. So if you have a bored bunny it might start destroying your belongings. So far Igloo has plucked plaster off the wall and chewed on the rubber mat I bought her. So if you don't want your bunny destroying your stuff, the only way is to quarantine the items!
It's not so bad once you start realising they only bite certain items... Get them a cardboard box to tear up when they are bored and they will stop biting your things!
2) Fear of humans.
By nature bunnies are prey animals, which means that they tend to have trust issues. They probably will take longer to get used to humans than a dog or cat, but I never had any issues with Igloo because I got her when she was very young. But if your bunny doesn't trust you it might not want to be close to you or might even bite!! I'd advise you guys to get younger bunnies (try
moomoopets, that's where I got igloo!) and if you have loads of patience or have a big enough heart then of course
adopt one! Many people abandoned their bunnies and those deserve a second chance too.
3) Limited activities together
If your bunny is an indoor pet there is only so much you can do with it. Bunnies cannot go to the beach with you like a dog can, or ride in a car. You can bring them for a walk with a leash but they cannot be made to follow you, you have to let the leash slack and follow them as they hop around to explore.
4) They hate being off the ground
In the wild a bunny's instinct is to bolt when it's confronted with danger. Being lifted off the ground means they are trapped and cannot bolt when they are scared. This also means bunnies hate being carried by us and it makes them uneasy so they squirm and panic when we try. It's not impossible, you just have to have a very firm hold on them and make them feel more secure. When they are pet or stroked on the ground or couch or bed though, they love it.
But all these I don't mind because I love Igloo so much I sometimes feel like I'm gonna explode!! ♥
Ok ending this entry abruptly here.
