Interview: Max the Bunny
Pets, they’re your best friend and confidant. Big or small, fluffy or a bit scruffy, it doesn’t matter, we love them all. They’re there for you unconditionally and the feeling is mutual. Our interview series celebrates this special bond between animals and hoomans. Let the awws begin.
Hooman: Kirsty, parent to one small bunny and a gigantic PhD dissertation.
Bunny: Max (3 years old), also known as Little Max, Maxy Max, Monkey and Bubs.
Home: Cape Town, South Africa.
After wanting a furry companion for ages, we (my husband and I) welcomed Max into our family in 2017. We adopted him through a responsible breeder in Cape Town (although, if I were to adopt another bun, I’d approach an animal rescue as there are so many abandoned rabbits who need forever homes!). As they say in the classics, Max chose us and not the other way around. When visiting the kits, he was the first to approach me and he started licking me right away (this is how bunnies show affection). We’ve been inseparable ever since.
In fact, I can’t imagine life without this little bun. Max joined our family at a time when my husband had to start travelling more for work and just as I was starting my PhD studies. He became my companion and through caring for him, he has helped me to manage my stress better.
We wanted a name that was appropriate for his size (he weighs less than 1 kg/ 2lbs) but also reflected his boisterous personality; we decided on Max, tiny but mighty, just like him. Although Max was wary at first, he’s full of so much spunk!
Little Max is affectionate and sociable. I love that, for such a small animal, he has such a big heart and so much love to give! He loves a good head scratch and wherever we are, is where he wants to be too! He spends hours napping by our feet during the day and he likes to join us on the couch when we watch TV - needless to say, the Covid-19 lockdown has been bliss for him.
He’s very curious and loves to explore the apartment by climbing on the couches, cushions, bookshelves and anything else he can reach (don’t worry, the whole place has been bunny-proofed!). He also loves being outdoors, he has a digging box outside where he likes to roll around and burrow.
Sometimes Max wakes up in a mood and doesn’t really want to cuddle and nap in our bed. Instead of leaving his humans in peace to get some extra sleep, he’ll sit on the pillows and try to eat our hair. Because this is bad for his health and we don’t really want the unsolicited haircut, it forces us to wake up and interact with him. Cheeky bun!
We recently brought home a new lavender bush, which is his favourite. He was so excited about this that he tried to run away with the whole plant, probably so that he could munch on it in peace and quiet. Unfortunately for him, the plant was much bigger and heavier than him so he didn’t get very far; he just stood there pulling at it! He eventually gave up on this plan but he did sit and snack on the plant for a while.
Remember the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland? Well, that’s Max. He has a daily routine and doesn’t like it when things aren’t running on time. The day starts at 6 am; we let him out of his hutch for a cuddle in bed with us before we get up. Next is breakfast and hutch cleaning. He’ll usually hop around supervising all of these activities – he especially enjoys chasing after the broom. After breakfast, he goes back to the bedroom to check if anyone is still in bed – because he loves extra cuddles.
The rest of the day consists of napping, eating hay, stretching and more napping – usually with us in the home office. He becomes more active again at around 3pm, and dinner and hutch cleaning happens at 4pm. After another nap, he’ll bop around inside and outside doing bun things (last night he decided to empty one of his hay boxes and drag it around the apartment). He’ll then settle down on the couch for cuddles until we go to bed.
Follow Little Max and his adventures in Cape Town on Instagram here.