Now I am seven

I wrecked my basket today and scrabbled up my dozing mats into a messy heap. It felt really good when I'd finished. Sort of satisfying. Usually I don't mind when they go out but when it got round to salad time and nothing came I had a bit of a tantrum. I sat there for ages waiting in my usual place but nobody came. Oh, there was my dried grass which is delicious on the whole but there's a time and place for it and 5 o'clock in the afternoon is not it. That's the slot for juicy green grass and herbs. I like things to be regular.

Well, I'm seven now you know and deserve much more consideration. Although I celebrated my birthday in September last year that was really to mark the day I was chosen from a pet shop so I must have been a few weeks old then. It fits because my pcg has her birthday in August too and we are so much alike. We know what each other is thinking. Apart from an odd slip on her part. A lot of time and effort is saved because of this coincidental fact. I won't tell you how old she is going to be.

I wouldn't say much has changed over the years. I still have a fine head of hair and healthy teeth. I'm not overweight, my running speed is up to scratch, I can come to halt on a sixpence and binkie whenever I feel like it. I might sleep more and I like to take time over my crunchies in the morning but that's all. No, I can't say I feel any older. They would say I nag more often. That's because I do enjoy my carrot and banana and sometimes they get that wrong too. It should be every hour on the hour but they just don't understand. My young pen pal Lennie would support me there. I hope he's keeping his humans up to scratch.

Those pink things by the way, Len, can be trained to pick up any messages you might inadvertently leave behind. Good roughage for them but there is the danger you could be put outside in a hutch if the others notice. That's what happened to a rabbit I know. Beware.

How did he get his rug that far away? At least he left his teddy alone. Usually it's the first thing to take to the air.

Strike action ahead.

I'm just about to go on strike. It's the only way to change one or two things whic h have spiralled out of control. My control that is.

For a start, look at the length of my grass patch. Have I a great long tongue like a cow to wind round it and pull up stuff? Cetainly not. I'm a nibbler. I start at one end and nibble my way to the other. Even on my back legs I can't reach the top of these blades so can't even begin the job. And what if there's somebody in there waiting to pounce? I've seen toads in there and spidery things.
Then there's this new thing at tea -time. I'm expected to kiss J's nose before I get my grassy, herb salad at five-o-clock. I never had to do this in the past. All because she's been reading about people clicker training bunnies then giving them a treat. Just like being in a circus or one of those wild life parks where they train parrots. Poor things. M doesn't have to kiss anybody's nose before he gets his tea. Why should I?
But what to do about it? I could refuse my salad. Turn my back as we rabbits do if we want to be rude. Nope. Not a good idea. I like it too much. I could poo while I chew. No, J would make me go outside to eat it and it might rain. I think just ignoring the grass patch is easier.
There are a couple of other ways of going on strike. I could give up standing in front of the vacuum cleaner as I always do to show them where to go next. I could throw my dried grass out of my bowl , I could eat all the baby carrot tops in the grow bag although somebody seems to have started on them already. I could binkie in front of the TV at the most exciting bit of the programme. I could learn to chew furniture. Must give it more thought.
Had my myxie jab the other day. It doesn't seem five minutes since I was in hospital. In case the vet thought about keeping me in again, I shot up onto J's shoulder to make my point. You never know with vets. I was ok though and after toe nail clipping and a tooth check we came home.
Nothing much else has happened lately. Gardening mostly. I made a bit of a scrape the other day but the soil shot up onto my middle and gave me a surprise so I ran for the back door. It's much safer inside. I only did it because whenever I went out, J kept scrabbling with her hands in the soil to show me how to do it. As if I wouldn't know. M said he didn't know which was dafter, a rabbit who wouldn't scrape or a human showing a rabbit how to scrape.
But back to strike action. I don't think I'll bother after all. What's a bit of grass between friends and I don't hold grudges. I'll carry on nibbling the carrot tops and parsley though. Oops! Hope they don't read this. They're blaming slugs and snails at the moment.
Time for tea and that kissy thing.

PS. Good to hear from you Lennie. Watch out for the kissy thing. We rabbits must stick together.

I am back

I've been very, very poorly and had to stay in hospital. It was my dodgy digestive system again. I couldn't eat and couldn't poo and couldn't drink my water and had a terrible pain in my tummy. Whatever position I tried I couldn't get it to stop. Thank goodness Janet notices everything and took me straight to the vet. He gave me morphine and put me on a drip. You can still see the place on my ear where he fixed it. Then I had to be hydrated under my skin and fed with a syringe of complete food at very frequent intervals. It was awful.

We rabbits have a complicated digestive system. Most of our bodies are full of bowel and we only have tiny lungs. When I eventually got home I managed a dandelion leaf, a bit of rocket and a smidgen of carrot. M and J were so excited when I ate it so I joined in the fun and ran round the furniture. In fact I was a bit naughty that night and wouldn't go to bed when I was told. I didn't care because I felt so good. I started on my crunchies the next day and am better now. I hope it doesn't happen again. Even my vet was worried. M, my second in command, is just a people doctor so isn't much good in bunny emergencies but has been doing his bit by keeping my stuff squeaky clean in case my trouble was caused by germs.

It's great to be able to stretch out in blissful comfort under my table again. This is the life.

What a scare. The vet said he had a fifty-fifty chance and the practice was brilliant. Thank goodness for cat and rabbit care specialists. And thank goodness Harvey's a house bunny otherwise we might not have noticed the problem quickly enough.

Harvey's Song For Celia

(and bunny lovers only)

There's poop beneath my table
There's poop between my toes
There's poop inside my litter tray
As everybody knows;
And if I'm feeling lazy
Or bored and naughty too
There's poop stuck to the carpet
As a special treat for you.

They coo and smile and stroke me
As I nibble on my hay
They tell me I'm a good boy
So I do just as I may;
But when I'm watching tele
Or if Celia comes along
I'll keep my poop all to myself
And sing her this new song.

Dear Smudge

You're a girl! I thought you were a chap like me until my Primary Care Person saw you on George's blog recently. She told me all cats of your colour are female.

I don't know about you but it's been a busy couple of months for me and they didn't get me a new diary for this year until they saw one going cheap because the year had already begun.

While I'm on the subject of incompetent humans we've had one workman here after another which has meant I've been dashing about non-stop to keep an eye on my floor space, all because J turned the bath taps on and went off to check her email. Half an hour later water poured through the ceiling and my paws got soaked every time I crossed the carpet to get to the television for my evening viewing. It took days to dry out. As you know we companion animals are very fussy about our surroundings. I don't do any outside activities if it is cold, wet, windy, hailing, snowing or too hot, so having a soggy carpet inside was not at all to my liking. Then they had it cleaned and it smelt really funny, so I hung around in the other rooms and spent more time upstairs.

Then would you believe, black smelly lumps fell from the chimney and covered the hearth where I go to play with the odd log or two when there's nothing much on TV. Smoke billowed into the room and another workman came to sweep the chimney. He brought lots of interesting things for me to check out but I dashed off when he pretended to use me as a brush and stick me on the end of his cleaning stick. Everyone thought it was very funny but me. I'm as willing to have a joke as the next creature but really.

If you are still willing to believe the stress I've endured, a mouse moved into my kitchen without so much as an if-you-please. The weather has been pretty blowy but he could have asked. They put a humane catcher down with chocolates and cornflakes inside but no luck so far. He puts on a good show when he skates across the the shiny floor so I'm entertained while I nibble my hay. It makes for a change. He doesn't have much conversation though. He just might be stealing my hay for a nest, I must watch out.

Then there was the earthquake. I would have slept through it quite peacefully but my PCP came trundling downstairs, waking me up and fussing to see if I was ok. Nothing much disturbs me when I'm sound off. Not even earthquakes.

Finally, I had a sore eye, conjunctivitis, and had to go and see my vet again. It was red and I tried to keep it closed and manage with one good eye. Did I get any sympathy? Nope. "All you need now is a parrot on your shoulder Harv", they quipped and squeezed some cream in it twice a day. Not very pleasant but I was given a treat each time for being good. It's better now.

Have you got these new things called sunbeams in your house? They come through the window and settle on the floor and you can stretch out and doze on them. If you don't keep a sharp eye out they move about a bit. I expect you can pounce on them and keep them in one place. Binkying on them doesn't work. Pouncing is probably better. They are here already this morning so I'll catch one before it disappears again.

Best wishes and happy snoozing

Harvey

Auld acquaintance

This is the last page in my diary and nobody has given me a new one for 2008. Looking back it has been a busy year and I've taught my family a lot about looking after a house rabbit. On the whole they have been quick to learn and very keen to follow my advice. For humans, that is. Janet and I are both Virgoans so the stars might have made it easier. We seem to like the same things in life, she likes gardening, I like scrabbling and sitting in the holes I dig. She likes growing herbs in pots, I like eating herbs in pots. I like turning pages in books, she likes reading them. We both like a place for everything and everything in its place. She likes bananas, I could smell one out at a hundred paces in the dark, with paws tied behind my back. We both love a nap in the afternoon. On the whole we work well together although I do more around the house, especially supervision.

I've made a lot of friends, both animal and human. Willow my dog and Summer my blue cat shared my first home with me while George and Smudge have kept in touch during my blogging. Celia Haddon had faith in my ability to write my diary and it was another family friend, Patrick, who named me "The Cog" because he spotted both feline and canine traits although there's much more to me. A rabbit is a rabbit but this new name opened up the pathways to closer observations of my activities around the house which I have shared with you. Pauline-the-Postie cares for me when the family is away and knows all my little ways and needs. My Joanne who bought me from a pet shop started me on this life of comfort and love which I still enjoy. My secondary care giver is my personal photographer and has kept a record of my life so far, catching me often in very embarrassing situations. My friend Celia says "Where love is given it will be returned." It works in our house.

Everyone should have a bit of heaven in their lives and you are ours, Harve. Shall we keep your diary open in case you find another?

My Christmas box

All the packages, paper and lights around the place are for something called Christmas. A friend brought a cardboard box with a big label that said Harvey's Christmas box. It was full of carrots and beetroot from his allotment. The smell was like a deep soily burrow, a grassy field and a vegetable patch all rolled into one. I sat in it surrounded by carrots, my dream had come true. I dived headfirst for the biggest carrot. Mmm. Bliss. I like this Christmas happening.

My family told me a story to explain things, all about a rabbit family living together long ago in a stable full of hay. One night in the coldest part of the winter some travellers came to share the warm shelter and while they were there a human kitten was born. All the rabbits snuggled up to the baby to keep it warm with their soft fur and when the baby put its hand out to grab one of them that bunny's fur turned white. He became the Great White Rabbit who waits for us all on Rainbow Bridge.

A Very Merry Christmas