Mercy and ethics

The cottontail, Squeaker, arrived today and pretty much immediately I realized these very well meaning folks had done this rabbit a huge disservice. They've had it for about a month, hand feeding it kitten milk and have graduated the rabbit to a diet of celery and grapes. Needless to say, I'm absolutely shocked this thing has survived. Squeaker wasn't tame, as they claimed, he was immobilized by shock. I thanked the folks, took Squeaker and let them out the door.

A thorough check revealed he's about two months old and covered in scratches and gouges from the cat who attacked it. Poor guy's eyes were completely bugged out, a sign of high stress. I had Squeaker run around the kitchen for a bit to make sure he was able to move easily and made sure the wounds were clean and healing well. Other than stress, Squeaker was perfectly healthy and able to survive in the wild.

And then I took him outside and I let Squeaker go. Out front in the thick bushes where there's plenty of natural cover and plenty of food resources. Once he realized where he was, Squeaker took a few hesitant steps than ran off into the bushes. A good sign.



Doing what's right for wildlife isn't always what we think it is and nothing I could offer Squeaker would make up for what he'd lose being someone's pet cottontail. I hope he'll stick around, I'd like to see him grow up to be a beautiful wild thing.

P.S. Anyone got a good caption for LOL Cats or Rabbit Macros?