Jersey Wooly rabbit

I wasn't looking for a pet rabbit for myself, but we went to a rabbit show Saturday, and I came home with one. He's definitely not a meat rabbit. Breed standards would disqualify him for weighing over 3 pounds - way too much effort for a little snack! He's a ruby-eyed pointed Jersey Wooly, which means that he has a black nose, dark grey ears like a Siamese, and eyes that look like an albino. They were developed by crossing Angoras and Netherland Dwarf rabbits. His former owner is in poor health, couldn't keep up with the rabbits he had.

The cats are still evaluating this. He doesn't smell or look like a mouse. He does follow the etiquette of touching/smelling noses and licking front paws to wash his face. The youngest cat licks his face, and tried to get him by the scruff of the neck. I think he means to be playing; he likes to play with kittens about this size. Rabbits aren't playful the same way; Satsu'd get hurt. Tark cuddled up with the Siamese who's only a little darker than himself. She put up with it for a little while. Falcon just watches him. Cashmere, true to her nature, hisses and practices avoiding the thing. But she thinks Satsu, the lone male, who wants to play with the rabbit, is a 'thing', too.

I have never owned a 4-footed animal this small. He's 16 months old, so he's full grown. My only experience with things this small has been toy dogs, and I detest them. Since he's a pet, a name makes sense. Ben said something about naming this critter, which reminded me of an old PBS show called Krat's Kritters and a later spin-off in which the Krat brothers had a cartoon alter-ego named Tark. So his name is Tark. He's MUCH cuter than the cartoon kritter. I've probably spent 4 hours over the last 3 days clipping out mats, teasing out clumps, brushing, and brushing, and brushing. If necessary, I could have completely sheared him. Angora owners shear theirs. But I didn't want to do that in the middle of winter. I brought him home because I wasn't sure how much hair he'd have to lose; didn't want him to take a chill. Next step in grooming is a bath.

O-o-o-oh.... well, I knew he needed a bath, since his rear end was encrusted. Now I get to eliminate more bedraggled fuzz. How much of it I'll add to the pile he's sitting beside in the picture....I'll see.