Cotton Tail Time

They are everywhere now: baby cottontail rabbits. In fact, you may be walking around or over their ground nests without realizing it. Stop a second and look at this video to make sure you know how to recognize a cottontail nest.



It’s so important that humans understand what to do if you stumble across a nest. Critters, be sure to pass this information on to your humans.

One: Leave the nest alone and try not to disturb the babies. If you do disturb the babies, they are likely to panic and run from the nest. The goal is to get them back to the nest and left alone.

Two: Don’t be disturbed if you don’t see the mother. Rabbit moms generally nurse their babies for about 5 minutes a day. They are usually with the babies in the morning and evening but may spend much of the day elsewhere. Mom rabbits don’t ‘sit’ on the nest but that doesn’t mean she has abandoned her babies so don’t try to make the mom stay in the nest.

Three: if you startle the babies, then back away to give them a chance to go back to the nest where their mother will look for them later.

Remember that these babies are very fragile and the best place for them is the nest made for them. View the videos below to make sure you know what a nest looks like so you are more likely to recognize one when you see it.



This is my favorite video. It’s a baby rabbit’s first time out of the nest. After looking around, he decides he’s not quite ready for the big bad world yet.



So, here’s my lesson of the day… It may seem like a good idea to move baby rabbits from their shallow, seemingly vulnerable nests, but it’s the safest place for them so do your best to leave them alone until they are old enough to venture out on their own.

Okay, here’s the question of the day from Peaches the cat who asked: I recently read your blog about dog heart worms. Is this something my little kitty heart has to deal with too or is it just a dog thing?

Dear Peaches:

Heartworm disease is prevalent (word of the day) in cats too. The worms live in the heart and lungs and just one worm can cause permanent heart damage or even…death. Yikes! Signs of heartworks in cats:
- coughing
- vomiting
- breathing difficulties
- sluggishness

Products like Heartgard for Cats is 100% effective in protecting cats from this terrible little tyrant. Make sure you mom or dad (or both) are giving you monthly treatments.

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