CHAPTER 106—The Reconstruction
With Mocha’s and Hobo’s room gutted, it was time to rebuild. This was the perfect opportunity to design a room specifically for rabbits, rather than rabbit-proof an existing room. Dad wanted the room to be rabbit-friendly as well as inviting so that it would be a fun place to hang out with the boys.
Abigail and Bentley had taught Dad a lot about house rabbit behavior over the past several years, and he also had a chance to observe Mocha’s and Hobo’s specific habits and behaviors during the past year they had lived at the House of Buns. All these lessons factored into his choices for the room.
Since he spent most of the time on the floor with his bunnies, he chose a thick carpet and pad so that it would be comfortable for him to lie on and not be hard on his knees. Knowing Hobo had a tendency to pee “out of the box”, he knew the carpet also had to be liquid and stain resistant and easy to clean. Rather than pick a color that would camouflage rabbit pee, as some of his friends suggested, he chose a gray color that would make it easy to spot the “accidents” so that he could clean them up right away.
In the “mess hall” where their litter box and hay buffet would be located, he installed a plastic garage tile floor on top of the carpet and covered it with a seamless sheet of vinyl flooring so nothing could leak through to the carpet.
To minimize hay dropping all over the floor when he restocked their hay buffet, Dad installed cabinets beside the messy area to store hay, as well as towels and cleaning supplies. He chose cabinets that were finished in a material that was not easily chewable by rabbit teeth. He equipped the room with its own floor vacuum as well as a hand vacuum.
Instead of baseboards, he lined the room with plastic Cordmate cord covers, which looked like white baseboard but were hollow inside to hide cords and cables. The plastic was resistant to rabbit chewing. He installed several electrical outlets high off the floor so that any cords plugged into them would be out of reach of the rabbits.
Dad wanted to keep furniture to a minimum so the boys would have maximum floor space to run and play. He chose a convertible couch that could be configured as a standard couch for entertaining visitors, a recliner for watching TV, or folded flat as a bed in case any house guests wanted to sleep with the rabbits. It was low to the ground but high enough to provide a hidey-place for them. He chose a teal color to complement Mocha’s orange coat. An end table with metal legs housed their stereo and stored their treats, brushes, and other items that he needed on a daily basis.
Their flat screen television was hung on the wall so that it would not would take up floor space with a media center.
A skylight replaced the chimney, making the room brighter and more airy. White LED lights were aimed up at the ceiling to bounce soft light back into the room to provide a soft, natural-light glow.
Abigail had taught Dad that rabbits don’t like to be hot, so he gave them their own air conditioner to keep them cool in the summer.
For three weeks, Mocha and Hobo watched with fascination as Dad transformed their room. Every night, when he was done, they’d venture out and inspect the changes. All that was left was decorating.
Soon, the starship Bunnyprise would be ready for Captain Hobo and Mister Mocha!
Dad rebuilds Mocha's and Hobo's room specifically for rabbits.
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