Ch.252 Helping Mama Rabbit Save Her Baby

May 2024

          Yesterday morning I opened my door, suet bar in hand, intending to feed the birds, when I saw something strange. Down the hill there was a rabbit staring at my cat, who was only about 6 feet away from her. Bunnies don’t do that. It’s suicidal to get that close to a predator. There was only one explanation. Blackie must have captured one of the rabbit’s newborns. That mama bunny was hoping to save it, maybe to lure Blackie away. It was all she could do.

          But I could help. I rushed downhill, scaring the rabbit away. Sure enough, Blackie has caught a kit (the official name for baby rabbits). It was alive and the only injury I could see was a small puncture wound on its head. I gathered up Blackie, took him inside, and informed him that he couldn’t go out again for another two hours. He received that information poorly, meowing loudly for the next twenty minutes before settling down on my lap. I figured that two hours would be long enough for Mama Bunny to pick up her baby and take him to safety; either that or he would have died, or worst-case scenario, he’d be barely alive, and I’d have to kill him to stop his suffering.

          Blackie and I went to investigate exactly two hours later. Magically, the kit had disappeared! I was elated. Hooray for Mama Bunny. Blackie sniffed around but didn’t seem very upset. He’s well fed, after all.

          I could try to write something large about this episode, how it connects me with all the mysteries of the universe or how paradoxical it is to love both cats and bunnies. But I think I’ll pass on those thoughts for now. Instead, I’ll just be happy I helped save (I hope) one little bunny’s life yesterday.