(Part 1 can be read here.)
Once Mickey figured out how to get on my computer chair mat, it didn't take him long to figure out how to make his way along the other mats in my dining room area to give himself some more space for running around. Of course, true to his rabbit nature, that satisfied him for all of five minutes, then he decided he wanted to get in the living room. He's been in there plenty of times, but only when being held, not to run around. Since I was on the computer and didn't feel like supervising him in the living room, I had the entrance blocked off with some large boxes that I happened to have handy. That only served to make the goal more challenging; I spent most of his exercise time shooing him away from those boxes. At one point, he actually leaped on top of the biggest one, then sat there a little stunned ("Whoa! I made it!"), which gave me just enough time to grab him and put him back down on the floor. I took some pictures of this, which I will post as soon as I get a chance to upload them.
Last night, since my son was going to be in the living room for a while watching football and I didn't have to be on the computer, I decided to give Mickey a trial run in the living room. Of course, when he found he could actually go in the living room, he was a little hesitant at first, but soon enough, he was bopping all over the place, especially once he figured out that he could make a full circuit from the kitchen to the dining room to the living room and back to the kitchen again. I don't think I've seen that foo' wabbit run so much before. Lots of bunnydancing going on as well, when he wasn't trying to explore every inch of the living room. As always, it was the spots we wouldn't let him in that were most fascinating; each time he came into the room, he would try to get behind the loveseat and behind the recliner, and my son and I would shoo him away. He'd give us the "you're spoiling my fun" look, then he'd move on for a bit until it was time to try again.
Overall, it appeared to be going well--until he hopped up onto the couch. I should have immediately put him down on the floor, but no, I decided to let him sniff around a bit.
Bad move. He sniffed around for a bit...then peed on the couch.
Thank goodness for stain-resistant fabric and Zero Odor Pet, that's all I can say. The cushions got cleaned and rotated to the loveseat (which doesn't get sat on as much). Mickey was allowed to run around for a bit longer, but it was becoming clear that he was less interested in running around than he was in getting in the forbidden zones, so I moved him back to the kitchen, closed the living room door, and put up his gate at the kitchen doorway. He responded by trying to get into my laundry room area, which is usually blocked off by his gate, so I blocked that off with some boxes. Once he realized he wasn't going to be allowed anywhere but the kitchen, he decided he'd had enough playtime, so he went back into his cage, gave me the Dread Glare of Sulk and then flopped down in his cage for a nap. I tried not to laugh as I closed his cage door.
I'll probably let him into the living room again at some point, although obviously not on the couch, but I'm definitely going to have to get a second gate to keep him in the kitchen for days when I want to let him out but can't supervise him as closely as needed to let him run around the house. As is, it'll be interesting to see what he does when I bring him into the living room for our regular TV-and-snuggling sessions. Now that he's had a chance to run loose, will he be happy just to sit and be held?