Monday, August 30, 2010

Bun Mon


It's been two weeks now since the buns' area was renovated. Let's see how it's holding up.

Brand new, entrances on two sides of box and none on front. Interior is pristine.











Two weeks later. Note the new door under construction on the FedEx side and how carefully the sub floor is being revealed in the interior shot. There would be more debris if I didn't sweep them up periodically, much to the buns' disgust.





Saturday, August 28, 2010

Caturday

It was over 100 on Wednesday, today it might get to 72. Wake me when the weather becomes more predictable or someone brings home crab legs.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Catthump Day



Mercedes: It's an outrage! Here it is the third day in a row over 100 degrees, and there is no shaved ice in our water bowl! And why is Cleocatra drinking out of one of our bunny dishes? Is there no limit to what we have to put up with? Heads will roll!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Before and After with Disapproval

The buns' room has been undergoing changes, much to their disapproval. Basically I took apart the storage block cage that was part of a double exercise pen setup and re-purposed some of the materials so they now live on one level (except for box scaling).

2 Before shots:


The 3 level cage always bent in that spot, despite having supportive dowels underneath, perhaps because of the pegboard platform anchored above it. The cage served as an anchor to each of the exercise pens which were attached to each side and then clipped together in the middle to provide an entrance for the human. I tried to use multilevel cardboard cottages in the past to give them some height, but Mercedes would bump them over to the side of the exercise pen, climb to the top level and hoist herself over the top of the exercise pen to freedom. This would upset Bertie, who is too small to perform such a maneuver.


The cage contained their litter box on top of a coroplast-covered pegboard floor, a mezzanine ledge, and ramps to a larger ledge with pad for them to share, and another small ledge on the very top. If Mercedes was excited, she would jump from the ramp onto the floor of the exercise pen area, but again, Bertie was really too small to attempt this. They still had room outside the cage for a maze and the remnants of their fort (they collapsed the connecting tunnels early on).




2 After shots:

They haven't lost that much with one-level living: they have 4 boxes (which haven't been used to Fed Ex any cats anywhere) and 2 tunnels (concrete forms, nice and durable). There was an excavation project they had begun previously relative to the vinyl tile which is now covered up by the former pegboard floor of the cage, the pegboard itself covered up with some of the coroplast (for some reason they do not chew the coroplast). The two exercise pens have been extended by the use of the storage grid panels that made up the cage, giving them more floor space.



As you can see, they still have room for their lounging pads, dishes, toys, and hay box. They have begun renovations on the flooring of the new boxes and once they have accomplished that to their satisfaction they will probably move on to climbing on the tops of them and renovating the roofs they are standing on. The tunnels are made of sterner stuff and usually just receive a few nibbles on the end rather than meeting a death from structural failure.


Saturday, August 21, 2010

Caturday Disapproval


The cats display ultimate disapproval by the absence of all cat representations. Thus the emptiness of the space you see. A symbolic reminder of how bleak your life will be without a cat.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Disapproval Level Critical: Avatars in Use

The rabbits have designated avatars which will appear when the rabbits are too overwhelmed to demonstrate their disapproval of events in person.

Here is the small disapproval avatar:



















Here is the large disapproval avatar:






















When these two avatars appear together, the disapproval level is in the critical range.

This incident began on Sunday when their room began to be renovated. Usually Sunday is just bun laundry and general tidy-up day, but this past Sunday I took apart their 3-level storage-grid-squares cage, including the pegboard base and ramps and coroplast inserts. I then re purposed the grids into an extension for their existing connected exercise pens. Basically, they will be living primarily on one level now unless they climb on their boxes.

There are still some things to be added. Today we go get some concrete forms to use as tunnels (these are really rabbit-proof too). Tomorrow will probably be devoted to getting boxes to replace the tattered ones left from their fort. The final project will probably be done (more or less) by the weekend.

So far the rabbits seem to like the extra floor space, but they thoroughly disapprove over not having had plan approval. Of course, all plans are subject to their final disapproval, because if it doesn't work for them, they will make sure it doesn't work for us.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Catthump Day



Smitty and Bertie

This was taken 3 years ago when the rabbits' room was being painted and the rabbits had to move to the living room. Smitty (the feral cat) enjoyed sitting next to the ex pen as did Waldo--either they liked the rabbits' company or they liked the quilt better than the hardwood floor in the winter. Smitty is seen here in her annual "shaved" look-- she is a long-hair, but since she won't let herself be groomed by us, she gets shaved about once a year to get rid of the mats. The coming renovations to the rabbits' room won't be so drastic that they have to move, more a matter of making it a more interesting place for them to live.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Monday Meet and Greet


Meet the resident of the den:

Mercedes is getting ready to disapprove of changes coming to her territory in the next couple of weeks. She prefers changes to be initiated by herself and not by humans. She reserves the right to change the changes as they occur and to thwart the humans as much as possible.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Catnip Eyes Are Watching You


You never know who may be watching, and it may behoove you to conduct yourself accordingly.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Make It As It Was


Somehow Bertie doesn't appreciate that Sunday is bun laundry and clean-up day. I not only invaded their space, but moved their things. This is his "I do not approve" look in cartoon mode. (I was trying, in vain, to lessen the disapproval Kb.)