Monday, April 11th

As I ended the last post, we had two MAJOR surprises on Monday.

I received a call from husband just after lunch on the 11th to say that something was "up" with Cuddles. He did not believe it was an emergency, but something was not right. There were blood spots on the carpet, blood on her back end, and she "dropped" something that looked like an organ. He immediately put her in her cage and kept an eye on her throughout the afternoon, but all seemed fine.

That evening, after I got home from work, I started to make dinner. Suddenly our oldest son called out "Mom, Dad, I think you'd better come see this". When we rushed to the living room asking what was the matter, he stated " I think there's a baby in the cage". I am sure the look of surprised horror on our faces, as we shouted "no", would have been quite comical.

Yes indeed, there was a baby in the cage. As Cuddles proceeded to continue kindling (what bunny birthing is called), I rushed about trying to find a small box and soft towel to put the baby in. My husband who was watching the birth, called out that there were more coming ("trust me, I recognize those noises and motions", he said), and I should get a bigger box.

While the last kit was making its way into this world, my oldest son again got our attention. " I can hear squeaking (the newborn kits sound like a quiet squeak toy), and it is NOT coming from the cage". "It has to be", we replied, "she's been in here for about five hours now". "No, it's not", he stated. So, in a panic he and my husband started to look over the living room. Sure enough, they found one under a fabric tote that the rabbits like to sit in. It was alive, but small and cool to the touch. The "runt" had been born five hours (approx) before the others. We now knew what the mess my husband had found earlier was all about.

The next hour flew by, and dinner was all but forgotten. I was busy cleaning out the cage, setting up a nesting box and making sure that mom and babies were as settled as we could make them. My husband was researching as quickly as he could (thank goodness for the internet) what we should do/shouldn't do, how to set things up, what to expect, etc.

We also took turns holding the runt wrapped in a soft washcloth against our bodies in an effort to warm it up and keep it alive. Within an hour or two, it was warm, squirming about and ready to join its siblings in their new nest. Although my husband and I warned our sons that it may not make it, we were so, so glad not to have to deal with that situation.

The rest of the evening passed with all of the regular activities and duties; however, we were still so much in shock, that the following had not really sunk in:
            1. Cuddles has just had babies. Five babies!
            2. Sugar is NOT female and NOT fixed. Oh BOY!

Calling the vet will definitely be on tomorrow's to do list.