A Tale of Two Buns

Sample provided.

The Friday before Thanksgiving, I opened my back door and looked down to find a rabbit huddled right up against the door. As soon as the door opened, the bunny turned around and hopped right inside! This bun literally invited herself in and made herself right at home. As I petted her, she looked downright indignant that she had ever been outside – this was clearly an indoor pet. With no sign of the owner, I dubbed her Honey Buns and began researching how to take care of a bunny.

I’ve never owned a rabbit before – although I’ve always loved them – so I’ve been getting a crash course on Bunny 101. Most people are prepared before they get a pet, but since this one was literally dumped on my doorstep, I had to improvise quickly! I made several trips to the store and did a ton of research on what Honey Buns would need.

A few days later, Jai and I were returning from one of these shopping trips when we were greeted by a second bunny shivering under the trash bin by our front door! I couldn’t believe it. I literally had rabbit toys inside my purse as I walked up to the door, while Jai was carrying a mega package of lettuce from Costco; and the new bunny looked at us as if to say, “Why, hello! I heard you have rabbit toys and snacks!” We ushered the rabbit in from the storm outside, and promptly turned around to head back to the store for more supplies…

Neither rabbit had a tag, and there have been no reports of missing pet rabbits with our local animal shelter, so I unfortunately suspect that these two were abandoned. That means that Honey Buns and her new friend, who I named Bunsen Burner, are part of our family now! Having two rabbits show up randomly when you have never owned one before requires quick thinking and improvisation. So suffice to say, when Chewy.com invited me to review some much-needed rabbit bedding, I binky-jumped at the chance!

Jai is hard at work building a fabulous custom-made indoor/outdoor bunny hutch and run, but while that is under construction, we have the buns set up with temporary accommodation in two converted dog crates in the living room. We have to keep them separated until we can determine their genders for certain – since these bunnies showed up randomly in the middle of an absolutely insane work period where I’ve been traveling constantly, I haven’t had the opportunity to take them to an expert yet. Once we find out the genders and take the appropriate next steps, apparently the bonding process for bunnies takes at least a month and is very important for the safety of both buns, so suffice to say, this will be a long process where they will have to stay in separate enclosures for the time being. Again, most people are prepared before they get a new rabbit and don’t even think about getting two until they know they are compatible genders, fixed, and like each other – so we are having to play it by ear here in order to rescue these two precious little friends. 🙂

I used old newspaper as cage lining for the first week, so I was really excited to receive the Kaytee Clean & Cozy Forage Fun Small Animal Vegetable Garden in the mail from our friends over at Chewy.com. Even with a litter box and bunny-safe litter, the cage was still getting nasty really fast, and I was spending at least 30 minutes every night cleaning everything out of the cage and ending up with a huge trash bag full of garbage. Kaytee Clean & Cozy is designed to absorb six times its weight in liquid, so I figured this should work much better than the newspaper! This bedding is recycled from discarded remnants and trimmings from other hygienic products which otherwise might end up in the landfill, so I also felt like this would be a lot more eco-friendly than creating a giant trash bag every night! It also includes three little wooden chewy toys for your bunny friends to dig out and play with.

Clean & Cozy is a great product for making a cage more manageable to clean. I like the fact that it comes in a generously sized bag, since I ended up with double the bunnies anticipated when I requested to review it. 😉 It also gets two buns up in comfort – check out Bunsen flopping in his cage:

I’ve read that rabbits only flop down when they’re truly comfortable and relaxed, so I’d say that’s a high endorsement! I think Honey Buns and Bunsen Burner knew that they were choosing the right home to invite themselves in. 🙂

Ordering from Chewy.com is always so convenient. I’ve made so many unexpected store runs since the buns showed up, so it was great to have this bedding delivered straight to my door and eliminate yet another trip to the store! Plus, the bunnies just love playing with the box!

So there you have it: A tale of two buns who invited themselves over! They are both so sweet, with personalities like dogs – Honey Buns begs for treats, while Bunsen begs to be petted and loves affection. I’ve never met a more cuddly or sweet bunny anywhere, it’s pretty amazing! They’re so full of personality, and it’s sad to think that these pampered house buns were wandering around outside. I’ve been so concerned about getting everything set up right for them since I was caught so unprepared when they arrived needing help, so it’s gratifying to see them happy and thriving.

Have you ever owned a pet bunny before? Do you have any advice on keeping their cages clean? Or just share your cute rabbit photos in the comments!