We’ve had our bunny, Patch, since December. He’ll be 1 year old in September (we got him at about 3½ months old).
He’s always been sweet with me and my niece, but he has a problem with my mother. He’s bitten her 7 times, one bite bad enough to require a hospital visit. The first 5 bites happened before he was neutered, so we assumed it was territorial behavior — he was marking everything at the time.
However, even after being neutered, he still sometimes reacts aggressively toward her. Occasionally, he’ll let her pet him without issue. Other times, he’ll grunt, lunge, or bite seemingly out of nowhere. Tonight, for example, she was simply walking past him upstairs when he sniffed her, grunted, and bit her calf which she obviously reacted to and then he instantly went for the other one.
For context, my mother has a degenerative spinal condition and takes four different medications. Her movement is slower and less steady than before. Patch was fine with her when we first got him, but started acting strangely toward her in the spring.
My only guess is that her medical condition or medication changes her scent or the way she moves, which may be triggering this reaction. It’s strange because he doesn’t behave this way toward anyone else.
Has anyone experienced something similar with their rabbit, or have any ideas what could be causing this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
by Meap1337