Rescue Rabbit Steps Up to Become Sweetest Foster Mom to Orphaned Kittens

A rescue bunny from a horrific background gets a new lease on life when she learns to care for stray cats in this charming video. Here we see Bertha the Conti Rabbit cuddling with her furry charges, playing alongside them, and overall being a tender and calming presence for a series of foster cats who are just looking for a soft place to land.

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In this video we meet Bertha the rabbit, who was recused from a hoarding house. “She grew up in a bin with holes drilled into the top,” writes her mom, who describes the deplorable conditions that marked Bertha’s original home, where over forty rabbits languished in a small trailer. “It’s inspiring that after everything she went through she was the most loving animal I had ever met.”

Related: California Rescue Caring for 'Hundreds' of Abandoned Bunnies Issues Stern Warning

Unfortunately, Bertha recently passed away, quite unexpectedly, leaving her entire family bereft, but her mom feels like it’s more important than ever to show what a powerful force for good this one little rabbit was in their world. Thanks to her, many scared kittens had a calm, soothing, and very fuzzy presence in their lives.

All About the Conti Bunny

Contis, or Continental Giant Rabbit, is an especially large rabbit originally bred for meat in Europe. They are a popular option for pet bunnies due to their size, docility, and luxurious coats. And that size can be large, indeed. Contis can be as much as five times the size of the bunnies in your yard. Think of them as the Maine Coons of the rabbit world.

Pet bunnies like Contis are not content to sit around in cages, though they should be provided a cage or other den for sleeping in and retreating to. Otherwise they are happiest given a large area (or even free rein of the house) to hop around in. Like cats, they can be trained to use a letterbox for waste, so you don’t have to worry about that. They are also excessively social, with high companionship needs and require a great deal of attention and interaction to keep from getting bored and destructive. That’s why Bertha here made such close friends with her foster kittens—they were her own personal “warren.”

In general, bunnies are about the same “effort level” as cats when it comes to pets, though they do have more involved dietary needs, with a regular need for fresh fruits and vegetables in their diet on top of grass hay. (Carrots, despite the stereotype, should be kept to a minimum.)

Cats and Rabbits

Cats are natural predators, and rabbits are natural prey. Despite this, there are many instances of pet rabbits and cats getting along perfectly well, especially when the rabbits are as big as Bertha. Cats don’t generally go after prey that’s as big or bigger than they are, and a well-fed cat isn’t going to view its bunny roommate as possible snack.

It’s clear that the cats in this video loved Bertha very much, as they are seen playing with her, cuddling with her, and even jumping on top of her. And she loved them right back.

“I’m missing her every day,” her mom writes. “I hope her heaven looks like this.”

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