A strange box is found

One evening in March 2022, after the Watford centre had closed and all staff had gone home for the night, the live in staff noticed something unexpected by the gate when they looked out of their window. There seemed to be a plastic box outside the gate, it looked like it could have been a parcel, but no-one was expecting anything, and the bell hadn’t been rung, so they went outside to investigate.

As they got closer, they saw it was a plastic DPD box, sealed shut with no note attached. They opened the box slowly and were shocked to discover 4 adult rabbits inside. The rabbits were quite cramped inside the small box, with no food or water. There was also nothing in the box to make them comfortable or to absorb their urine, so they were wet, dirty, and very scared.

Making space for the bunnies

It was extremely lucky that the staff found these rabbits when they did as they would not have survived for long in the condition they were left. We were already at full capacity in our rabbit area but couldn’t turn our back on these poor abandoned bunnies. So, the staff set up 4 temporary homes in one of our spare holding pens, meant for short term stays. The rabbits were very happy to be cleaned up and given water and hay as they were extremely dehydrated. The staff decided to call these four fluffballs Winnie, Eeyore, Tigger, and Piglet.

Over the next few days and weeks, the rabbits were cared for in their temporary homes as we still did not have space in our main rabbit area. They were checked over regularly by our in-house vet team. We discovered that Winnie was the only male in the group and that none of the rabbits were neutered, amazingly there were no other medical concerns. They soon began to settle in and relax now they knew they were safe.

New arrivals on the way

Now knowing they were not neutered; we did wonder if any of the females would be pregnant. There were clear signs they had been mating, so we were keeping a very close eye on them all looking for signs of nesting. As the weather began to get warmer, we moved the rabbits into our four outdoor enclosures. This gives them more space, as there was still no room in the rabbit resident building, and the temporary homes we had set up were not big enough to stay in long term.

It was a week later that the vet confirmed that both Tigger and Piglet were pregnant, so they were moved indoors to allow them a safe, warm environment to start nesting. We were excited to hear news of baby rabbits on the way (who doesn’t love a cute baby animal after all) but this was a daunting time for us too. We were already over capacity for rabbits, what we thought would be just 4 emergency admissions, was now turning into many more. This meant we had more rabbits to keep safe, fed and medically cared for at a time where resources were already stretched thin. We typically have space to house 14 rabbits on site and at this time, we had 21 not including at least two litters of kits that were on the way. Thankfully, some of our wonderful supporters donated online and sponsored the rabbits to help towards their care. We simply couldn’t have offered the level of care we did without this help. We are very grateful to our friends at Petplan, who were on hand to help, and ran an awareness campaign for us via their social media channels, whilst also donating an entire rabbit care kit (complete with a hutch, a run and other essential accessories) to go to one of our fosterers. This rabbit kit enabled our resident rabbit, Bugsy, to be fostered clearing some extra space in our centre for an increasing number of resident rabbits.

The babies arrived!

It was a delight when we first saw signs that the girls had given birth. We’re not able to touch the babies, or disturb the nest, for at least 3 weeks to avoid the possibility of the mums rejecting them. We eagerly gathered at the door to the enclosures, desperately trying to see any movement and count how many lumps of fluff we could see. All we knew so far was that there were babies, and both mums were doing a fantastic job of caring for them. Three weeks later and little bundles of fur started making their way out of their nest to explore their pens and oh goodness were they cute! Piglet had 5 beautiful babies, all a mix of white and grey, Tigger had 4, all shades of brown with one having lovely long fur. The cutest part was, there was one baby in each litter that looked just like Winnie!

Over the next two months, Tigger and Piglet proved to be wonderful mothers, taking very good care of their kits. We all had a great time watching these little cuties grow and learn until they were old enough to be separated from their mums.

Where are they now?

Winnie

Winnie is still at the centre. He has been neutered and vaccinated and is waiting to find his forever home, which he thinks will happen soon as he has had some admirers.

Eeyore

Eeyore is still at the centre. She has been neutered and vaccinated and has fallen for one of our other resident rabbits called Mason. The pair are being bonded currently and will then be looking for a home together. Both rabbits are happy to have a friend as companionship is so important for rabbits and they shouldn’t live alone.

Tigger

Tigger has been adopted by a loving, rabbit obsessed family who fell in love when they saw her. She has moved in with a male rabbit called diamond (both are neutered so no more babies) and their owners have kept us updated as Tigger took her first steps to explore her new garden and got to know Diamond.

Tigger’s Babies

Tigger’s litter are looking for homes as two pairs – Bramble & Barley and Buttercup & Clover are sweet, lively baby rabbits who are dreaming of what their forever homes will look like. Being born here, they have never experienced a home. We have told them how wonderful it will be, and they can’t wait to be adopted. They shouldn’t have to wait too long as we are in talks with prospective adopters now.

Piglet

Piglet has been adopted by a loving family and now she is neutered, she has moved in with Billy, a neutered male. They are very happy and are enjoy lying together, grooming each other, and sharing treats. It’s amazing to see the change in her, after all she has been through, it’s incredible that she has now found her happily ever after.

Piglet’s Babies

Cloud & Puddle are reserved and will be leaving us soon to start their new lives. Storm & Blizzard are looking for a home together and shouldn’t have to wait long to find one. Rain is looking for a new home with a female rabbit he can become friends with, he knows his perfect match is out there somewhere.

An important lesson

2022 has been a big year for rabbit rescue in the UK, with more rabbits than ever being given up, signed over to rescues or abandoned. We have found all our centres full and over capacity throughout the year so far. We are still receiving calls every day about more rabbits needing our help and are operating busy waiting lists across all our centres. We have learnt a lot from this year, and we are making changes to improve our service and be more responsive to this demand. We have improved the way our waiting list is maintained and reformed our home direct scheme. We are using this to be able to help owners rehome their rabbits sooner and with the best interests of the rabbit at the heart. We are also building a bank of foster carers to help us care for the animals outside of the centre.

We completely understand the need to rehome your pets. It is a hard decision and sometimes, it’s the only option, but we strongly advise against ever leaving an animal at our gate without speaking to us first. There are so many risks and dangers, and the animal won't always be as lucky as Winnie and the girls were in this case. The sad reality is that an animal left at the gate without our knowledge might not always be found soon enough to be rescued safely. If you need help with rehoming your pet, please give us a call or email first. We will do everything we can to help you either through admissions, care in the community, fostering or home direct, this way we can ensure the safety and best interest of the animal. Helping pet owners and animals is what we’re here for.

How you can help

We can’t do what we do without you! If you would like to donate to the animals in our care, please visit https://www.nawt.org.uk/support-us/donate. If you would like to donate a specific gift to the animals, our centres all have Amazon Wishlists, which reflect their current needs so you can be sure you’re sending something they need right now. If you have the time and space to look after an animal short term, why not sign up to be one of our fosterers? Or if you would like to get more involved with your local centre, we are always looking for volunteers to help with animal care or fundraising. If you cannot donate or volunteer at this time, you can still help us by spreading the word about NAWT and the work we do. Every new social media follower helps us achieve our goal of helping animals in need.