The Daily Bunny

I’m going to get in trouble for this one. We have rabbits in our yard. Not pet rabbits – rodents. They eat (destroy) plants, bushes, and even small trees. I have a strong dislike for rabbits but not your pet bunny. There is a distinction. I’ve tried to prevent them from damaging the plants. Sprays don’t work. Leaving a portion of the yard for them to eat doesn’t work (they do most of their damage in the winter). I’ve tried trapping them to move them to another area and that hasn’t worked. I even built a snare to catch them but that didn’t work either. Other suggestions I heard were get a dog, fox, or cat to prey on them.

We have a dog (Shadow) and two cats (Sadie and Smudge). Shadow is getting old (11+) and he isn’t really a hunter or chaser anymore. He might trot after them if he sees them and they might or might not run away. They seem to sense he is harmless.

Both cats are indoor cats. Sadie has a variety of neuroses that make her unsuitable for much more than sitting in your lap to be petted. Even eating is a chore for her. She hovers around 8 pounds and we have to watch to make sure she doesn’t lose weight.

Smudge and I have not been the best of friends. He is an overeating bully with few redeeming qualities other than he's a good looking silver tabby. He is big - 15 diet-controlled pounds. Sadie doesn’t like Smudge.

As you might imagine Prednisone and Smudge were not a good match. My impatience with Smudge grew to anger and a great deal of frustration. I’m comfortable saying it was a Smudge-induced injury – not self-inflicted. I decided to let him go outside early in the morning and late in the afternoon before we fed the cats. Smudge has an internal clock that goes off at meal time and I felt confident that he would return. And he did. In fact he doesn’t leave the yard, wanders around it a bit, and stays close to home. This is where I get in trouble: he has starting catching rabbits; chipmunks too!

A friend, Mary, took me to task so you don’t have to. Mary has a great framing/gift store in the warehouse district of Minneapolis called Mitrebox. She sent me a link to the The Daily Bunny a collection of pictures of people’s pet bunnies, not the scurrilous things you’ll find in my yard.

Smudge and I are on much better terms now. When he returns from his outside adventures he likes to be petted; briefly but petted none the less. He doesn’t chase down and bully Sadie anymore as he did in the past although Sadie still hates him. He and Shadow have always been friends but he has taken that to new heights. He is turning into a good cat. I made him a ribbon and hanged it above his food dish that reads: “Bunny Catcher Extraordinaire.” We’ll see what happens this winter but I’m anticipating fewer rabbits and less damage. Good Smudge!

Eat Good Food, Be Kind, Tell the Truth

Click below for the collection of recipes or for an easy to print copy of a single recipe.

Collection of Recipes

These are NOT low Tyramine recipes - pets only!

Pastries for Cheese Loving Cats: Bet you thought this was going to be a rabbit recipe.

Dog Biscuits: Don’t forget the dog.