Seeing Spots

I will never understand why shelters get "trends" of certain animals. We'll go through months where we get tons of brown tabby cats, or all black rabbits. There's no rhyme or reason behind it, but it always happens.

 Right now it's spots!

The Room is full of spotty rabbits right now. They're not Easter rabbits (that rush hasn't started yet), so I'm not sure why they all look the same, but it's pretty cute. That brown and white girl is Lavender, a six-month-old foster baby who was transferred from Scarborough with her slightly-less-spotty mom Dottie.

Dottie and Lavender are unfortunately a bonded pair. I always try to separate kits from their moms at a young age, before a proper bond can form, because pairs are so difficult to adopt out. We tried to separate Dottie and Lavender when they arrived at the shelter, but Lavender showed signs of depression, so back together they went.

 They are pretty cute together. Luckily, they've been taken off our hands. The Cambridge OSPCA contacted us asking for rabbits, since they didn't have any for adoption. They didn't mind taking a bonded pair, so Lavender and Dottie are off to Cambridge, where they will probably have a better chance than in our crowded Room.

Clover here is another spotty transfer from Scarborough. You can see from the tufts behind her ears that she's got some Lionhead in her. She is not nearly as shy as the pair. Actually, she has a bit of an attitude. I like her personality - she's sweet to an extent, but she's also not afraid of letting you know when she's had enough.

It can turn people off when rabbits grunt or flick their feet at you, and obviously I understand that. But if it's done as a warning, rather than out of fear, and there's a reason behind it, I think it's a great quality. With rabbits who don't make obvious 'leave me alone' signals, you can't always tell how they're going to react. With Clover, you're both on the same page.

And finally we have Cleopatra, a recent run of the mill stray. She's a lovely Rex rabbit with the typical satin-y fur. She looks a bit like a cow. She's an outgoing, confident girl, and she'll be a good first-time rabbit for someone. We almost named her Scorpio, actually, because the markings on her back look remarkably like a scorpion:

I suspect this spots thing is going to keep going. The Easter rabbit rush tends to involve a lot of white rabbits with spots. At least they're good-looking!