Family Fun

Cold Winter Days & Nights

Sometimes we run out of things to do inside when it gets dark so early, stays way below freezing for many days, or it's cold and rainy. A bit of "cabin fever" touches everyone. Fortunately our furry friends provide us with live and spontaneous entertainment at almost any moment of the day or night.

My oldest son's 20 lb. bunny, affectionately named Burrito, usually stays in my son's room that has been half turned into a cage. We go visit him from time to time, especially when my son is at work. However, the other night the two of them were feeling rather bored and decided that they needed a change of scenery. They
came into the living room where I was busy folding clothes.

The 'bun' (as my son calls him) is potty trained so we don't have to worry about that. We have hardwood floors that are a little too slippery for his hoppers, so we laid a big blanket on the floor and the two of them settled down for some playtime. Burrito was a little shy at first, but his curiosity won and soon he was bouncing all over the room. He didn't limit himself to the blanket and quickly
learned how to maneuver the slippery floor enough to venture into corners and under the desk.

I think in some odd way rabbits must be related to goats, because they will try to eat anything and everything. My son was trying to do a little work on his laptop but found he had to continuously rescue the furniture, the wires, the plants and the shoes from the 'bun'. Burrito was so excited to have new playthings to taste and nooks and crannies to explore that he soon became far more bold and rambunctious than we had ever seen. It was sort of like having a toddler around again.

Hedging and skirting around the room in disbelief were our two wide eyed cats. I totally understand now where the term "scared-y cat" comes from. Gradually they each tried to get a closer look, maybe even hoping for a sniff, but would run off again as the 'bun' bounced over to say hello.

Finally the little one (gray cat) found a safe hiding place on the couch to observe from, while our orange tabby cat became frustrated and walked off in a huff. She decided to go into my younger son's room and visit the guinea pig. Both cats often hang out or sleep in my younger son's room.

She was obviously irritated by the presence of the big 'bun' in the living room so I decided to follow her to see what she was up to. This is what I saw, oh so sweetly watching the little piggy eat, or perhaps she was also assessing her own hunger.