Following yesterday afternoon’s blog about Roman, his behaviour continued to change, giving Claire and I cause for concern.

As I mentioned earlier (Sunday), physically Roman initially appeared very well . He was active, interested in life around him and maintained his usual good appetite. It was just that something wasn’t right… he continued to show no desire to leave the safety of his cage and was very ‘clingy’ towards us both.

Roman is a very friendly and affectionate rabbit, but this was a little too much lovey-dovey, even for him. I liken the behaviour to that of a two year old toddler, being left by it’s mother at nursery for the first time. Lots of tears, lots of pleas and lots of leg-hugging.

I found it really cute that Roman came bounding towards me when I approached his cage. Cuter too by the fact he would not allow me to stop stroking his head. Of course, he couldn’t physically prevent me from ceasing with the rubs, but he was just too sweet that I couldn’t leave!

Given how it was still the afternoon, this loving behaviour was very peculiar. Had it been late at night or early morning, we would expect him to be tired, so no concern would cross our minds.

We tried to think of all the physical ailments which could be responsible. We would naturally have no hesitation in taking him to the vets and at one point were preparing ourselves to do so the next day.

This was Sunday at around 5pm. Getting a vet at this time would have been impossible. Besides which, despite Roman looking a bit poorly, this wasn’t an emergency – at least not compared to a dog getting hit by a car, or another bunny falling from an armchair… that one’s only a matter of time!

After eliminating every possible cause for his excessively lethargic nature, the only thing Claire and I could think of, which could be physically up with him was his bowel. We always worry when he misbehaves and eats part of the rug, which makes up part of his run.

There is a saying “what goes in must come out”. This is very true. However, if you, I, a pet dog or cat was to eat some bad food, or a foreign object – for example, a bit of carpet – we would most likely be sick. Vomiting is not a luxury rabbits have the ability to perform. It’s impossible.

When God created bunnies, it appears that he used up all the ‘abilities’ quota on cute things, like a twitching nose and ears that rotate independently of each other. How useful!

The only way in which any rug or cardboard could exit Roman’s body is through his anus, in the form of one of those tiny brown marbles he leaves all over the place.

Our main concern whenever we catch Roman munching on something he shouldn’t, is firstly “Shit! You’re not biting Daddy’s Leeds United programmes, are you?”. We then start to worry how the big chunk of carpet he just ate will pass through his intestines.

The thought of something he has eaten causing an obstruction in his guts is terrifying – especially as it would almost certainly involve a trip to the vets, potentially for major surgery.

We had to ensure Roman was pooping. Given the fact he already had a nice collection of droppings in his litter tray, it was difficult to tell whether or not he was adding to the pile.

Claire therefore gave our bunny a fresh new tray, full of clean litter and void of poo. Mercifully, it wasn’t long until he made use of his toilet. We had never been happier to see a rabbit take a dump.

As the day drew to a close, Roman began to look a lot perkier. Thank goodness for that! A long, sleepless would have awaited everyone had he not improved by bedtime.

This morning, Claire and I had a lovely surprise. Roman was behaving like Roman. He was wide awake, full of life and desperate to be released into his exercise run. It was as if yesterday never happened.

We will probably never know what was wrong with Romy. Clearly it wasn’t anything to be concerned about.

As an extra precaution, we will be keeping him off the treats for the next couple of days. I’m sure he will cope without his toast and banana. Maybe…

Roman is a strange rabbit. He makes no secret of the fact that he loves freedom – who can blame him?

This is why I found it most peculiar when, during one of Roman’s explorations of our front room, he took an incredible interest in his cage. The same cage he refuses to enter at bedtime.

Considering Roman’s fascination with the cage, Claire and I removed the bars, so that if he really wanted to return to what is effectively his bedroom, he could.

Amazingly, he happily hopped into his cage. Admittedly, Roman did appear a little confused once he discovered that he had been imprisoned, but he certainly didn’t look upset or angry and his lack of freedom.

We did let him back out of the cage a short while later. Claire had prepared his lunch – a hearty meal of nuggets and green leaved vegetables.

The gourmet meal was enough to tempt our bunny from out of his cell. However, as soon as Roman had finished munching, he was dashing around again. He didn’t even hang around for coffee or an After Eight mint – although was considerate enough to leave us a tip. It is just a shame this “tip” was a pile of small brown balls, which are certainly not legal tender!

It wasn’t long before he returned to the outside of his cage. Pacing around the bars and trying to find a means of access. His efforts were futile. The cage had been secured – Roman was locked out.

His persistence paid off. Claire allowed him back in. This time, however, his stay would prove to be a lot longer than the one he enjoyed pre-lunch.

I think the fact we basically called Roman’s bluff, before allowing him to stay in the cage for a prolonged period, caused him great confusion.

While the situation Roman had placed himself in was rather funny, his cuteness pulled at our heart strings. Claire and I therefore released him back into the front room – again!

Of course, there was a strong chance of this process continuing indefinitely…

1) Place Roman in cage
2) Allow Roman to stay in cage
3) Release Roman from cage
4) Repeat

To avoid this madness, Roman was given what we believed to be a choice… spend the remainder of the day out of his cage, or locked up in it. He picked the latter.

Roman therefore spent what was left of his Sunday afternoon in the comfort and safety of his cage.

Very odd behaviour. Thankfully he has shown no lack of energy and maintains a strong, healthy appetite. Despite appearing physically well, we will certainly have to keep an eye on Roman to ensure he stays fit and healthy.

Look how fat Roman has become!

Only joking. A quick spot of image manipulation allowed me to create a rotund Roman. The original photo can be found here.

The reason behind this cyber bullying of our bunny is a bit bad…

Roman was accidentally signed up for Weight Watchers!

Not the kind of WW where he has to attend meetings with other overweight rabbits, only to be ridiculed by a nasty organiser, like Matt Lucas’ Marjorie Dawes character from Little Britain.

We did, however, inadvertently start feeding Roman nuggets for overweight rabbits.

A couple of months ago, our bunny became unwell. He stopped eating his regular dried food and looked poorly.

Claire and I were extremely worried. In a desperate bid to get him enjoying food again, we ordered him a new brand of rabbit nuggets.

These new nuggets were greatly received by our bunny. We were so relieved to see him eating again and looking better, that no more was thought about the culinary change and continued to feed them to him twice a day as normal.

It was only two months later, when Roman’s food supply was running low and needed replacing, that we noticed what we had originally purchased and were feeding to him!

Roman has now been ordered a new bag of food. Identical to what he had been eating, but not designed for overweight bunnies, so therefore presumably a little more calorific. I just hope he enjoys full fat nuggets!