Preparing Cotton's supplement prior to his exercise

Everyday at around 7-8pm evening, Uncle Hubby and I will be feeding Cotton his Senior Support supplement by hands through playing with him. I will break the supplement tab into smaller pieces about size of 2mm diameter and I feed him 1.5 tab everyday so that will be about 10 small pieces which my hands are able to break into. Uncle Hubby and I will each take almost even number of the smaller pieces so that Cotton will be able to be fed by both of us but Cotton has to run between us of a distance about 1m to get his sweet supplement.

1.5 tabs will be broken into 10-15 smaller pieces to be hand-fed Cotton later

I hope to do a video how we do the exercising with him through treats one day, so stay tune.

This entry as the title mentioned is during the preparation of Cotton's supplement breaking into pieces prior to his exercise. Cotton can smell his supplement and will go crazy for it and started harassing me for it. I could not concentrate breaking the tab well and so Uncle Hubby had to distract him away from me. That's where things become funny because we realized that Cotton was actually chasing after his daddy for treats when Uncle Hubby was trying to distract him. Cotton will nibble his daddy's toes gently if he does not get his treat so Uncle Hubby has to move away from him. Eventually, Uncle Hubby was actually jogging away from Cotton and Cotton followed him. It just so hilarious that I took a video of it.

Gluttony Cotton.

 

The running around distraction tires Uncle Hubby out every night so we lock his playpen now when I am to prepare his supplement treats for the exercise. Clever and sensitive Cotton will know it when he smell his supplement. I always prepare his supplement at the living room while watching TV, meanwhile Cotton will be getting ready and standing expectantly at his playpen. Look at his hungry look. Awwwww it's so priceless.

 

Cotton: Quick Mummy, I want my treat.

 

 

Cotton: Daddy, stop taking pictures of my hungry look. I want my treat now!

Snoozing with Cotton @ his playpen

Yes, it's true. I snooze with Cotton @ his playpen as the title suggested. I have been doing this every night for the past week and Cotton is used to me bringing my pillow and lie next to him at 10pm or so on every nights. We would watch online drama via iPad mini or SCV channels on TV. See the pictures below....you know how naturalized Cotton is into our couch potato lifestyle by now. :O
 

Watching a HK online drama with iPad mini

Initially on my first snooze-in, Cotton was not receptive (because it is something new to him) to me lying next to his resting area. He would hop onto his cage base and rested there. Then I moved him down and he hopped away to his cage base and then slowly hopped back and rested at the position above me (see the 'old' picture below and it is 'old' because the wooden lodge is now placed on the floor with one side supported on the cage so that the resting hole space is larger for our big sized Cotton).

He rested above me at the start.

That did not deter his overly passionate over him mummy (yours truly) so I moved him again towards the wooden lodge and I slapped on the floor in front of the wooden lodge where I would like him to go to.

(Cotton and I have an unspoken agreement that I will not remove his wooden lodge unless I am doing his house cleaning. I come to realize (again, trial and error via observation) if I do not remove his wooden lodge to catch him, he will not roam around the house to seek for a hidden corner to hide from us.)

Cotton is very intelligent and he seems to get my hint and went into the wooden lodge and lie down. Just like that. Total time taken for our 'communication' was merely less than 15mins. Once he lie down, I just pat on his head once and left him alone. After sometime, he was so comfortable with me that he would sleep away too. I secretly took a video of him sleeping away while I was lying next to him. Shhhhhh.....

So now, every night at around 10pm, I will bring my pillow and lie down next to his wooden lodge and slap on the floor in front of the wooden lodge to ask him to lie next to me if he is not already resting in the wooden lodge. He will lie/rest for 10-15mins and then hop around me to explore (he will bite my iPad Mini after some sniffing so I have to push him away before he starts biting) before hopping to his litter box to munch some hays and drink some water and then hop to above my pillow and licking non-stop on my pillow and hair. Then he will hop back into the wooden lodge and lie rest next to me. The cycle will repeat. He does that even when I do not lay next to him and it may has to do with the fact that they are prey animals which God created them so and therefore besides eat, sleep and shit to fatten themselves as a next meal for another carnivores, they pretty much have nothing to do. His action also means he welcomes me to snooze at his territory. :D 
 

Selfie with Cotton

 

Cotton relaxing together with his mummy :)

Cotton ravaging his Oxbow Hay Stack

 

Cotton doesn't like his Hay cake so I would think he wouldn't like his Hay Stack as well. What am I going to do because I did not want to waste food and money. Pssst....Hay Stack ($25) costs more than Hay cake ($12.80). Ouch!

 

I checked the ingredients of the Hay Stack and confirmed there is NO cane molasses....OH NO!!! Suddenly I realized that I depend on molasses a lot in order to get Cotton to try new things! That isn't too healthy but as long as the amount of molasses is within acceptable range (that means as long as molasses is not the top 5 ingredients listing where usually the order of ingredient listed would normally based on the decreasing order of amount added).

 

So I decided to use the pellets which have molasses in them and stashed into the Hay Stack. Cotton has very sensitive sense for smell (maybe that's normal for rabbit) and Cotton started digging for the pellets in the Hay Stack. See video.

 

Video Disclaimer: It's not for the weak stomachs. Some violence scenes are expected. :p

 

 

 

 

So does my strategy work? I do not know yet because at least it gotten his attention to ravaging the Hay Stack but not sure if he will eat his hay from the stack. Will update again in next few days if he eats the hay stack.....or not.

 

Stay tune.

 

Updated on 02-Apr-2014:

To get a clearer picture if Cotton does eat his hay stack, I have setup an 'experiment' to test it out. In his next change of litter box, I just gave him just one hay stack and no loose hays. As per instructed on the packaging, the compressed hay stack must be torn a little in an 'S' form so that bunnies can maximize their foraging pleasure. I personally think the instruction is very useful and helpful.

 

1 Oxbow Hay Stack added to his next litter box change

The compressed hay stack is loosen by hand to form an 'S' shaped 

Overnight: Cotton have dug further one small part and did eat the stack

After 24hours (Day 2): Only a small portion of 'S' shaped was left.

Cotton foraging at his hay stack

So Cotton did not waste his mummy's hard-earned monies and eat his given hay stack. It's true that at the initial stage, the hay stack is cleaner and less messier to begin with. However, once Cotton started tearing the stack apart, be expected there will be much loose hay around. Let me break down the Pros and Cons of the hay stack:

Pros:
- Clean and no mess at the beginning only
- Cotton is kept busy with the tearing apart

Cons:
- Price is not cheap
- Cotton doesn't like to work for his food so he did not eat as much than if he is fed with loose hays
- Cotton urines a lot so his litter box has to be cleaned every 1-2 days (no longer than 2 days) so recycling the un-eaten hay stack seems unhygienic and waste $$ as Cotton only ate about 40% or so of the stack
- Hay stack lacks those long hay strains types which are just important in providing the essential fibre content.....and Cotton loves eating these long hay strains which are crunchy and good for his teeth too
- Hays in the hay stack does not look as green as those in loose hays packs.

Verdict? I won't repurchase the hay stack once Cotton finishes this stock because the Cons outweighs the Pros. :P

Online shopping

Oh no.....I spent again online!

This time round, I bought the following items for Cotton:

Products 1 x Pet Link Metal Hay Holder with Chain   - Size: large SG$5.60 1 x Oxbow Multi Vitamin   - Weight: 60 tabs SG$20.95 1 x Ferplast Flea Comb – 5838 (Small Animals)   - Design: Comb SG$8.00 1 x APD Senior Rabbit Tropical Cookie   - Weight: 1.75oz SG$6.40 1 x APD Timothy Gold Hay   - Weight: 24oz SG$17.60 I feel encouraged by the fact that Cotton does take his hay from his Timothy Ball so I decided to invest a metal hay ball container for Cotton. :D I also wanted to try APD Golden Hay where it claims to contain 2nd-cut Timothy Hay and only the green colours is expected. Cotton loves his Momi 1st cut Timothy hay and so I would assume he will love the 2nd-cut as well. The differences between 1st and 2nd cut are the softness of the per fibre strands and also the fibre content as well. I read that 1st cut contains higher fibre content and is tougher (rougher) cut and so bun will need to chew harder and more. My intention is to mix and alternate 1st cut and 2nd cut with the Oxbow Timothy Hay because the latter is still more economical in terms of $$ to sustain 80% of Cotton's diet. Not forgetting that Cotton eats quite a big despite of his age seniority. I need to spend a minimum of $50 to get the free delivery (or else $10 for delivery fee) and so it's a good time to refill some of his cookie treats and letting him try Multi-vitamins as well. I am so tempted to get the Oxbow Natural Sciences Skin and Coat support supplement but I guess I will get it in the next purchase. I did not want to feed Cotton with too much supplement at one time, given that he is on long term Senior Support supplement as recommended by the vet. I can't wait for the items to come now. Cotton is just as excited as his mummy too. The only person who is not so forward looking is none other than Uncle Hubby for sponsoring the above. Hahaha...Thank You, Uncle Hubby! *wink wink* PS: Pictures of the items will be uploaded once they are arrived. :) Stay tune
	Updated on 20-Apr-2014: The cookie was a repurchased so I did not take picture of it. Repurchase means Cotton loves eating it.
	Cotton's new favourite now and is hanged in the metal ball His new favourite too   My new favourite because this comb is so effective Metal Food holder
	The metal food holder, despite the invoice said comes with the 11cm chain, but there is no chain. I did not realize until later so no point for me to pursue further. Anyway, I bought the metal chain from our local store for $2 and the problem was solved. I stuffed APD Timothy Gold Hay in the metal food holder because it's more costly to be used as loose hay as part of his litter bedding as well. Cotton does finish his hay at the metal food holder so it shows my strategy works! The metal holder also serves as an extra hay for Cotton. Cotton will eat up most of the hay at his litter box and then attack the hay at the metal holder. It's not because Cotton prefers to eat the hay at his litter box so he eats them first but because (I suspect) it is easier for him to graze at his litter box than from the metal holder. Well, whatever it is, whenever he starts to eat from his metal holder, it also means it is time for me to change his litter box.

A rabbit that looks like a Polar Bear? A Fox? Or a Chicken? Or a Dog? :O

Update on 13-May-2014:

And he poses like a cat! 

------------------------------------------------

Sometimes Cotton looks like a Polar Bear whenever he drinks from his bottle; sometimes he looks like a Chicken when he's resting at a corner; sometimes he looks like a fox when he becomes alert of his surroundings; sometimes we feel he's like a dog whenever we feed him treats by hands! Lastly, Uncle Hubby thinks that Cotton is like dancing Gangnam Style when he crosses his front paws while periscoping to take his treats from our hands. Oppa Gangnam Style! 

Don't believe me?

See the pictures! Uncle Hubby can't agree more on this too, especially the 

Polar Bear pose!

Cotton and his Timothy Ball

Yay! My performance bonus payout today, though it's pro-rated since I just changed job last year. I'm so delighted that I want to share the happiness with Cotton too and so I bought him a new toy - Alex Timothy Ball! I bought for $4.25 instead of the picture shown (it's from a website since I forget to take a picture of my purchase). The ball comes witha bunch of green Timothy hay in it. 

The ball is hung above Cotton's litter box so that his poo can be contained and he won't be confused where his food source is. The first night with his Timothy Ball was quite a disaster - we woke up to see a place littered with small pieces of hay and the ball was found on the floor. What a mess! Cotton is an impatient and violent rabbit if he has to take much effort to have his hay. He must have flung the ball while trying to gnaw for hay in the ball. In the end, I have to dig out most of the hay and rearrange the hay loosely so that Cotton can get his hay easily. 

Look! Who's enjoying his hay now! :D

Litter Training Cotton

Litter training Cotton is really a breeze for me because I suspected that at his senior age, he might already have a stable toilet habit. And he has proven my 'theory' right. 

On his first night at his new home with us, he was able to recognize which one was his litter box (I do not need to place his poops at the litter box to hint him) because I placed a container at corner of his cage and in the container, I layered a newspaper (most bottom), Carefresh Ultra paper bedding and then the Timothy Hay. I learnt and read online for many tips how to setup a rabbit litter box by the way. However, Cotton was not used to the Carefresh Ultra paper bedding and started digging it out/away. I remember that SPCA uses newspaper in their rabbits' cubicles so my strategy changed and tore the newspapers into stripes and mixed with the paper bedding.

 

Initially I used more newspaper stripes and lesser paper bedding and gradually decreased on newspaper and increased the paper bedding until eventually, Cotton gotten used to paper bedding in his litter box. I saw pee pad at Daiso and decided to try to use as the base for the litter box to facilitate my cleaning purposes. The newspaper would tear when wet so it's pretty disgusting and messy to empty his litter box into the plastic bag and plus newspaper ink easily blacken Cotton. Pee pad is not enough to absorb Cotton's 2days of urine (he really pees a lot!) but it makes it wrapping up all his soiled litter content easily and no mess.  

Of course, all litter training credits is not due to me because as some websites also have mentioned as well that senior rabbits have in some ways cultivated their toilet habits/preference at their age. This makes litter training with Cotton a real breeze.

Let's go to the pictures! The picture below is the usual Day 0 which I always prepare to change Cotton's soiled litter box. Cotton has 2 litter boxes - one is Burgundy Red colour and the other is Turquoise colour as show in the picture. Having 2 litter boxes is more for convenience reason so that I can instantly exchange the soiled litter box with a clean ones. Cotton, as a typical rabbit, is inquisitive whenever I am at his playpen territory and touching his litter box. Did I share with you that whenever Cotton feels threaten or fearful for his life, he would hop to his litter box and stay there. Maybe he trusts his only odour...haha

 

Day 0: Prepare fresh litter box for Cotton

I knew which spot that Cotton will pee so by trial and error, I have managed to 'train' Cotton to pee on a certain spot in his litter box. The orange arrows indicated are where the cat litters recycled papers are placed and where Cotton will pee. You see, as he eats his hay, pees and poos all in the same tray, I need to organize his litter box such that he would pee and poo at certain spot(s) within the box and eat his hay at another spot in the same box. To do that, where his hay is placed is important - his hay is always lined at the side and none at the litter paper so that when Cotton eats his hay, he will only have a certain position. See picture below....Ta-da!...as rabbits eat and eliminate (shit/poo) at the same time, so my strategy works on Cotton.

 

 

Look, what happened to Cotton's litter box in next few hours/days....

After 24hrs: Orange arrows indicate where his majority of his poops and urine (see the yellowish stain) be found

Another fresh litter box and after overnight use of it

Typically I need to change Cotton's litter box once every 2-3days or at times, once a day. It depends on how much soiled his litter box is. In those days where he has his fresh vegetable meals, he will drink less and thus, his litter box can last longer. (Update: To ensure Cotton does not become picky with his food and not eating his hays, I feed him fresh vegetables on alternative weeks). Sometimes like once a week or so, I will give him a spoonful of pellets. I keep his pellets as treats especially after I have combed him so that he will be more cooperative with me during grooming session.

:)

Cotton 'ET' with his mummy

 

Cotton has always allowed me to touch his paws - front and hind. I just thought it is simply classic if can do an 'ET' pose with him. :D

Cotton the Fashionista rabbit

Cotton the Fashionista rabbit is showcasing the latest Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter - all year round season hairstyle for any Lionhead breed.

 

His hairstylist is none other than yours truly.

 

I really love his Holland-lop mock-up look :D

 

 

SPCA called to check out Cotton

This entry is a little late but it is late better than none at all. SPCA called me one day while I was at work. According to the SPCA staff, it is procedural for them to call the adopter who has adopted animal from them 2 weeks after the adoption. They want to make sure their adopted animal has adapted well with their new parents, environment and among others. I have adopted Cotton for exactly 01 month now as of 23-Mar-2014. It feels like I have Cotton for forever already. :D

It was about 2:30pm on a Thursday afternoon at my office when my mobile rang.....

SPCA (a guy with a deep voice): Hello, is this Ms XXX?

Me: Yes, I am. Who is this and how I can help you?

SPCA: I am calling from the SPCA and we are checking how's the rabbit (which) you've adopted is doing now.

Me: Oh, you mean Cotton? He is doing well...I mean great. I placed him in a cage during his first week to litter-train him. Then on his 3rd week when I noticed his litter habit was stabilized, I have moved him to a playpen. He was shy and afraid to step out of his cage which was placed in the playpen, so I removed the metal of his cage and leaving only the cage base in the playpen to encourage him to step out.

SPCA: Oh, that's good to know that he is no longer living in a cage environment.

Me: Oh I also brought him to visit a vet clinic on that weekend I adopted Cotton....

SPCA: (Sounding concerned) Oh, what happened to him? Is he sick or something?

Me: Oh no no....because I asked your staff before if Cotton has any medical history and you guys told me nothing much. So in order to get a baseline of his medical history, I thought to visit a vet clinic to do a health check-up for him. He did a blood test as well.

SPCA: So how's the results?

Me: The blood test results showed he's healthy but only glucose level slightly on the high side. His teeth is OK, his bone structure is OK without any lumps felt and he is last weighed at about 2kg weight.

SPCA: Oh great. It's good to know that Cotton is in good hands.

Me: Yes I think so too. He is not as afraid over little sounds and timid compared to what he was when he was at the SPCA.

SPCA: Good to know this. Ok, do let us know if you have any issues with Cotton or need our help on taking care of rabbit. We be glad to help you.

Me: Sure. Thanks for following-up. I will let Cotton know too. (laughing).

Bye....

SPCA never mentions about house visit but if they ever want to, Me, Uncle Hubby and Cotton are ever ready to showcase!

The different relax poses of Cotton

Life is great!

Cotton: Thank You my pretty mama and Daddy Uncle Hubby. It's my snoozing time!

Hays, Pellets and Treats!

I decided to do an entry about Cotton's hays, pellets and treats and their ingredients, of course!

Let's start with his Hays. Timothy Hay for sure as I read almost every online information that at least 80% of any adult rabbit's diet should be hays and is always readily available. I bought the 40oz size Oxbow brand from a nearby local pet store. The store owner really gives competitive prices but because the store is small, there's not much varieties and stock to choose. The store only has 1 bag and I have to take or leave it. I was charged $20 if I recalled correctly. 

But Cotton doesn't seem to eat as much and as fast as he previously would. Or maybe his twice a day daily dose of fresh vegetables resulted him to eat lesser hays? I don't know yet but his water intake also proportionally decreases. I was told that Cotton drank lots of water previously because he was eating a lot (his only food then) of hays. Hays being dry, he will naturally drink a lot of water after eating so much hays. 

However, I read about 'freshness' of hays and the more green it is, the better. I was at another larger pet store yesterday after work and saw that their packs of 40 oz are very green and greener than my first pack which I just bought 2 weeks ago. So I bought one more pack at the larger store ($24 before less 5%) home to compare. Can you guess correctly which pack is which? 

Answer: Lower pack is bought from larger store and is greener, right? Now I am trying to clear his existing hay stock as soon as possible..... 

 

Let's move to his pellet. I bought Oxbow Adult Rabbit Food pellets and apparently pellets typically comes in one size - 4lbs. I am using this purely as treats or giving at small amount (1/5 of party plastic cup size) once a week basis. This pack will last me a long time and Cotton loves it (not surprisingly) because it contains molasses. Oxbow also have another type of pellets for Adult Rabbit under Essential category. I decided to buy the Natural Sciences version because it contains Orchard Grass and Oat Grass which means I can save on getting other types of hays without the concerns about freshness and at the same time, Cotton can also gain more vitamins from the pellets. It's definitely a win-win choice for me. 

Update on 29-Mar-2014: The old pack of Oxbow is finally finished and the new pack is opened. Really lots of green hay and Cotton loves them. 

 

The ingredients for the Natural Science pellet:

Timothy Grass, Orchard Grass, Oat Grass, Oat Hulls, Canola Meal, Whole Yellow Pea, Whole Barley, Tomato Pomace (dehydrated), Cane Molasses, Flax Seed, Yeast Culture (dehydrated), Sodium Bentonite, Salt, Lignin Sulfonate, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Rosemary, Dried Thyme, L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate (Vitamin C), Inulin, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Biotin, Manganous Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate

Guaranteed Analysis

• Crude Protein (min) 12.00%
• Crude Fat (min) 3.00%
• Crude Fiber (min) 22.00%
• Crude Fiber (max) 26.00%
• Moisture (max) 10.00%
• Calcium (min) 0.40%
• Calcium (max) 0.80%
• Phosphorus (min) 0.35%
• Copper (min) 35 mg/kg
• Vitamin A (min) 19,000 IU/kg (min)
• Vitamin D (min) 900 IU/kg (min)
• Vitamin E (min) 190 IU/kg (min)
• Omega 3 Fatty Acid (min) 0.45%
• Omega 6 Fatty Acid (min) 0.90%

 

I also bought for Cotton to try Oxbow Lavendar Chamomile Medley Simple Rewards treats. Why Lavendar and Chamomile flavour is because I hope the aroma scent will able to calm Cotton more after each combing session. Although the manufacturer recommends 1 spoonful per day, I only uses it after each combing session or playing time with him. The package even sealed tight unopened, Cotton could still scent it and attempted to bit it opened until I stopped him. The Lavendar scent is very obvious.

 

Ingredient for this treat:

Timothy Grass, Orchard Grass, Brome Grass, Wheat Straw Meal, Rapeseed Meal(Brassica napus), Whole Yellow Pea (Lathyrus aphaca), Whole Barley, Tomato Pulp, Chamomile, Lavender, Cane Molasses, Chicory Powder, Flax Seed, Yeast (heat-killed), Salt, Dried Rosemary, Dried Thyme, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Biotin, Manganous Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate

Guaranteed Analysis

• Crude Protein min 12.00%
• Crude Fat min 3.00%
• Crude Fiber max 23.00%
• Moisture max 12.00%

 

 

To let Cotton exercise a bit via running is during play-time. Uncle Hubby and I have set a play-time session with Cotton on every evening after our dinner....that would be somewhere 7-8pm. Previously, we have used his Senior Support supplement (breaking the tab into smaller pieces) to feed him from our hands but he has to shuttle run between us (about a distance 0.5m long). He will sniff and pick the treat with his mouth from my fingers and eat it, and after that, he will have to go to Uncle Hubby's side and repeat it. Then back to me again. It's also a good time to let Cotton familiarize that his name is Cotton as we always call to him for his attention after he taken the treat from one of us.

I have always this question in my mind if too much molasses intake would be harmful to Cotton since his glucose level was high in the Feb-2014 blood test. So I google and found a scientific journal which concluded that incorporation of molasses at 5% in rabbit diet is OK. Of course it is not cheap to include molasses into rabbit food so basically, you eat what you pay for.

  

 

To increase the varieties of the play-time treat, I bought cookie snacks. So far, he loves it.

 

 

Cost of some items:

 

1 x	APD Senior Rabbit Tropical Cookie   - Weight: 1.75oz	SG$6.40
1 x	Oxbow Natural Science Adult Rabbit Food   - Weight: 1.8kg (4lbs)	SG$20.90
1 x	Oxbow Hay Cakes   - Size: 453g (1lb)	SG$12.80
1 x	Pet Link Rabbit/Chinchilla Wooden Stick Tunnel   - Design: House	SG$7.70
1 x	Oxbow Simple Rewards Lavender-Chamomile Medley   - Weight: 70g	SG$7.10

 

Update on 29-Mar-2014: I bought the Hay Cakes so that if I brought Cotton out, at least I can feed him with the hay cake for convenience and little or no mess in the carrier. But Cotton does not like his hay cakes. I tried to insert pellets into the cake but it's not possible to do that as the cake is too tightly compressed. I rubbed some banana onto the cake but Cotton did not take the bait. There goes my $12.80. 

I wanted to buy APD Timothy Golden Hay which I read on reviews that it contains a lot of green hays and most of the owners who tried it said their buns will not take other brands anymore. But I cannot find the brand at the larger pet store and so decided to try this brand as well. I intend to mix this together with Oxbow hay for Cotton. This brand is not cheap and costs me $14 before less 5% at 15oz size. 

Update on 29-Ma-2014: Cotton loves this first cut Timothy hay! I mixed this with Oxbow hay and Momi hay is drier and harder than Oxbow. Cotton enjoys both but he has finished most of the Momi serving within the 3hours. 

 

I think I will also cut down the amount of fresh vegetable frequency to maybe 2-3 times a week so that Cotton will eat his hays. He seems to eat lesser of his hays these days and expecting treats from us as well. Naughty Cotton. I worried he may turn to picky eater if we are not careful.

Grooming Cotton's matted fur without Trancing!

My 2nd attempt of grooming (combing to be exact) Cotton without trancing him was again a success. He seems to respond to me saying if he doesn't allow me to comb him, then will let outsiders to do so. Then he wiould lie down flat on his belly for me to let me comb him. His matted fur was mainly at his rear and tigh areas. Some of the matted fur was stained with brownish stain of urine! The duration seems slightly longer than the first round like I could comb him non stop for 10mins or so before he hopped back to eat some hays and coaxed him to lie flat again. 

Honestly, it's pretty tiring session as I have to squat and bend over to comb his rear. I have not try letting him rest on my legs and I comb him. Still, it's a good progress between Cotton and me. 

I have used slicker brush ($14) and a big teeth metal comb ($7) to comb Cotton. I tried to save some monies but using plastic human comb and the teeth just wouldn't penetrate well. At the end of the combing session, Cotton is treated with a bowl of his fave pellet treat! And after eating his treats, it's rest and relax time again for him. 

Cotton peed at the sofa!!!

Oh no! Cotton peed on our sofa unknowingly to me until Uncle Hubby discovered the whitish urine stain! He must have peed while I put him at the sofa while waiting for Uncle Hubby to finish his mopping. Uncle Hubby was more than mad.....he practically fumed and blew at me! 

Bad Cotton for mama get scolding over his misgiving. So I showed to Cotton what he had done and locked up his playpen to let him reflected his mistake...... >:( 

He was 'jailed' for 1hr - the amount of washing time to laundry the sofa in the washing machine. He seems to know that we were mad with him and he rested in his litter box while spying on our movement throughout. After the hour gone, we fed him with his daily Senior supplement and he's back alive and started roaming around the house. As I said before, Cotton is friendly and forgiving (therefore easily forgotten) nature rabbit! :)  ....... But not Uncle Hubby who has imposed a 'No Cotton allows on sofa' warning.