The second week of interaction is over and I am not going to lie...it was stressful! Cohen went from being scared of the bunnies and wishing they did not exist to completely interested in everything they do. Luckily the fence still kept the bunnies and cat separated but every day he would lay next to their play area watching them. At first it seemed cute, then it reminded me of the way lions pace in their zoo exhibits watching small children...SCARY! But I watched Almond and Walnut's reactions to Cohen and they seemed to enjoy his presence, some days they would lay near him and others they would just smell each other through the fencing. Adam decided he felt comfortable enough to let them out into a shared area again, and he noted that anytime one of the girls didn't respect Cohen's space he would quickly retreat back into the bedroom that the bunnies were not allowed in. I also caught him "booping" the bunnies on their head if they surprised him while he was resting...but it must not have scared them because they kept coming back for more. Slowly but surely the girls started to leave Cohen alone and with that he started coming out more to hang out in the living room with them (and us!).
The most recent development was probably the scariest, the bunnies were "binking" around the living room and Cohen started chasing Almond! Adam got up to end the chasing (mostly out of fear that the predator-prey stereotype had come out). But it ended just as quickly as it had happened- Almond stopped running, turned around to face Cohen, and the two just smelled each other. It happened again that afternoon with Walnut, and by the end of the high speed chase the two were laying next to each other looking out the patio door. Could this be the start of a new friendship?? They are back to being separated by a fence, as we don't want to overwhelm the animals...or ourselves.
Does anyone know how we can tell if the three are playing or if they are running away out of fear?
Look at the body language ... are the bunnies crouching down into themselves (fear), or laying stretched out (relaxed)? Is the cat's tail doing the "looking at a mouse" twitchy thing (hunting), are his ears flattened back (angry/afraid), or is he just sitting calmly with ears perked up (interested)? You're the best judge!
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