CUDDLE UP TO SOMEBUNNY SPECIAL.

Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

Imagine it ...

You were snatched away from your brothers and sisters, hugged and squeezed unmercifully, picked up by your long ears, chased by a big dog, and penned up in a backyard cage all by yourself.

Now that you're a bit bigger, the people who took you to live with them aren't interested in you anymore. They turned you loose in a park near the hills. You're hungry and it's getting dark and cold, and your sensitive nose detects something that smells like coyotes on the prowl ...

A scary scenario? That's the fate of many Easter bunnies, say those whose job it is to care for abandoned rabbits.

``Rabbits can live up to 10 years, but most of them (bought as Easter bunnies) won't live to see their first birthday,'' said Jackie David, spokeswoman for Los Angeles City Animal Services. ``People regard them as disposable.''

A couple of months after Easter, many rabbits who've lost their holiday luster begin to show up at public and private shelters, discarded by their owners after baby cuteness turned into bunny puberty, with raging rabbit hormones triggering biting, scratching, urine spraying and an urge to mate.

Rather than get the animals spayed or neutered to calm their behavior, owners dump two or more rabbits a week at city shelters for several weeks after Easter, said David.

At the nonprofit spcaLA shelters, the population of abandoned rabbits grows by 12 to 15 a week shortly after the holiday, said shelter spokeswoman Mary Brankovic.

Without proper facilities to care for them - rabbits, with unpadded feet, need special cages - the shelters work with the nonprofit House Rabbit Society to find new homes for abandoned bunnies.

But the HRS itself gets about 100 calls a month from rabbit owners eager to get rid of bunnies they've grown tired of - and there are only about three new homes available monthly for abandoned rabbits, said HRS spokeswoman Karynne Johnson of Sherman Oaks, herself a rabbit owner.

``I don't know what happens to the rest,'' she said regretfully. ``Some of the people, I know, just put them in the front yard and ignore them until they go away. Others turn them loose in parks or take them into the hills. But they don't know how to fend for themselves in the wild, and most of them are killed by coyotes. Even a good-sized owl can swoop down and carry off a rabbit.''

The lucky Easter bunnies are those purchased by owners who intend to keep them for life, who study up on rabbit care and who know that rabbits are delicate creatures who are very different from other domestic pets.

``People have to really like rabbits to be good rabbit owners,'' said David. ``They're not an interactive animal like a cat or a dog. They don't walk on a leash. They don't come when they're called. And they stress out very easily.''

Rabbits also have very delicate spines, said Brankovic, and can be paralyzed or killed by unknowing mistreatment.

``If you treat them like a cat or a dog, rolling them over and roughhousing with them, you can kill them,'' she said.

Rabbits have even been known to die of fright, sometimes caused by the mere smell of a predator.

That's why the HRS - with the emphasis on ``house'' - advocates adopting a bunny and making it part of the family. If your cat or dog curls up on the sofa next to you while you're watching television, there's no reason your bunny can't do the same, says Johnson.

``Ideally, rabbits can have the run of the house,'' she said. ``Of course, you have to keep them groomed, and you teach them to use a litter box, just like a cat. And there's no reason they can't go where they please with the rest of the family.''

In addition to leaving rabbits feeling bored and unloved, caging them in the back yard can also doom them to short lives of ill health, Johnson said.

``You need to see your rabbit, to know how he's doing, whether he eats or not, because rabbits get very sick very quickly,'' she said.

Dr. Robert Hyman, a small-animal vet at the Newbury Park Veterinary Clinic, said rabbits have medical problems that aren't prevalent in dogs and cats - respiratory infections, abscesses, bladder stones and hairballs they can't vomit up. Owners should get to know their rabbits so they'll pick up on early signs of illness and take the animal for medical treatment, he said.

But most aren't so delicate that they can't survive an illness.

``A sick rabbit is not a dead rabbit, but you do have to recognize what's going on,'' Hyman said.

Rabbits are happiest in pairs. And abandoned rabbits often find good homes with rabbit-owning families who are looking for a companion bunny, said Johnson.

HRS rabbits, which are spayed or neutered, are introduced to their adoptive families carefully. Despite their docile demeanor, rabbits can be fierce if faced with another rabbit they don't like, Johnson said.

``We supervise them getting together to make sure nobody gets hurt,'' she said. ``Sometimes, it's love at first sight. Sometimes, they fight like mad. They shred each other to pieces and the bloody fur flies. Of course, we try to keep that to a minimum.''

There's no telling which rabbits will get along. So it may take several attempts before a compatible mate is found. Sometimes that ``mate'' may be the family dog or cat.

``Rabbits are extremely social,'' Johnson said, ``and when they find a mate they like, they're very happy animals.''

Get a jump on these rabbit rules

If there was a bunny in your Easter basket, or if you're planning to adopt one, here are some tips from spcaLA and the House Rabbit Society on taking care of a bunny.

Don't cage your rabbit, then forget it except for feeding time. Ignored rabbits can become bored and anti-social and can also develop undetected illnesses that can lead to death.

Don't overhandle rabbits. Most are sociable but prefer not to sit on laps or be cuddled.

Rabbits can be spayed or neutered when young - 4 months for males, 6 months for females. Unless spayed, a female rabbit can produce as many as 12 litters a year. An unspayed female has an 80 percent chance of developing uterine tumors by age 3.

Rabbits, once litter box-trained, can be given the run of the house. Many also enjoy a few hours outdoors, but only in a large cage or run they can't dig out of - and that predators can't manage to get inside.

Bunnies like a cage they can retire to for security. Cages should be at least three to five times as long as the rabbit is when stretched out - and wide enough for the rabbit to turn around comfortably. Cages (preferably with wooden or slatted floors, not wire) should be equipped with litter boxes and fresh, cool water at all times.

Rabbits love to chew, so provide plenty of plain, unfinished wood (not redwood, which may be toxic for bunnies), branches and twigs. If yours is a house rabbit, encase electrical cords or string them out of reach so they can't be chewed.

A spayed or neutered rabbit can co-exist peacefully with another spayed or neutered rabbit, a cat or a dog, as long as they're introduced and supervised carefully.

For more information on rabbit care, check out the HRS Web site at www.rabbit.org, or contact the HRS at P.O. Box 49356, Los Angeles, Calif. 90049.

- Carol Bidwell

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Photo: Rabbits are extremely social and will cuddle up with the family cat, dog or even a stuffed animal.

John McCoy/Daily News

Box: Get a jump on these rabbit rules (See text)