I had a very lovely moment with the rabbits last night I wish to share with yall. I love these two so very much and I'm so happy they're a part of my life. Its easy to get so caught up with everything I forget to take a moment to breathe. Relax. And when I'm finally there, the rabbits are more than happy to say hello!
Rabbits are very quite animals, which is something I'm grateful for. AuDHD leaves me with unique sensitivities, probably one of the strongest of those being to sound. A dog's bark can be earsplitting, a cat's mewing can be grating, but these are not faults of the animal, nor faults of my own. Simply... incompatibilities. So what noises do rabbits make? Well, they do have the almighty thump, which can be quite loud and startling, but is a sound seldom heard in this house. I do my upmost to make sure they feel safe, so such a noise is unnecessary. Pepper occasionally gives me a small whine when she feels I am taking too long prepping her meal. But the noise I hear most from these two, is the soft gentle purr of a content rabbit.
Yes rabbits can purr, granted its nothing like a cat. It's a soft sound they make by clicking their front teeth together. It most often occurs when I find that sweet spot while petting them, though I have also heard it while they are lounging on their own. Rabbits have also been known to 'sleep talk', which often involves the same purr like sound. So while rabbits do have their own little sounds, most of their communication comes from body language. And the sounds they do make are, generally, pretty quiet.
Last night it became clear to me that I was a fair bit overstimulated. It happens from time to time. The best I can do at that point is to find something to do that requires little to no noise. While sounds can be the source of my overstimulation, it isn't always, as was the case with last night. Even then, I often find it helpful to minimize the amount of noise my brain has to process. So I went into my room, where the rabbits had been napping, found something to read, and just took a bit of time to relax.
Pepper was the first to come say 'hi'. She laid down close to me and received pets on and off as I read, often punctuated with happy little rabbit purrs. Jasper then made his way over to investigate. Which often starts with the famous rabbit maneuver of get close, sniff, then run away. Jasper and I have bonded a lot over the months I've had him here, but rabbits can be very slow to fully trust someone. Some days are better than others.
Still he worked his way back to investigate further, sniffing and nudging to further investigate. Giving a little nudge with their head a time or two can also be a rabbit's way of saying hello. Or that you are in the way. Rabbit language can be very contextual! He eventually made his way to the other side of me to investigate further. He put his front little paws up on my arm, to get a better look at me, and what I was reading. He stayed there for several seconds, studying me. I wish I had a picture or was at least able to articulate better how precious he was in those moments. Eventually he decided I was safe, and quickly scurried over to the nearby littler box to chow down on some hay! Pepper soon followed suit, and before any of us knew it, it was time for bunny dinner!
It was such a lovely and peaceful moment, and a good reminder to take time out of your day to do something relaxing you enjoy!
