Sailor and Aberham snuggled up to each another in the metal cage. Weird giant beings cooed at them and tried to touch their fur through the cage bars. People. Strangers.

Sailor and Aberham are rabbits in an unfamiliar place: the pound. And they've got lots of company.

The Sacramento Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reports it has received almost as many rabbits to date as in all of 2007. Abandoned and stray rabbits exceed the number of owner-surrendered bunnies in the shelter's care this year.

Rabbits and guinea pigs have joined the ranks of dogs and cats left behind in foreclosed homes or set free in parks because their owners have found themselves in financial difficulty.

"Every morning, there is a box of (some type of animal) left outside the shelter," said Lesley Kirrene, director of public relations for the Sacramento SPCA, adding that the agency prefers if people surrender animals during business hours.

"We've seen a lot of stray (rabbits) this year," she said. "Oftentimes, people think rabbits can fend for themselves. But bunnies become prey for wild animals and dogs."

Kirrene also said that domesticated rabbits, which can live 10 years, are really indoor pets and are vulnerable to both hot and cold weather.

"The right thing to do if an owner can no longer keep a rabbit is to bring it here," she said. "Rabbits have a really good chance of being put up for adoption here."

Sailor and Aberham's owners left them to fend for themselves outside. The two strays were picked up by county animal control officers and brought to the SPCA a few weeks ago.

"They're very bonded," said Kirrene. "Something people don't realize about rabbits is that they have individual personalities and can bond with one another and people."

Another misconception is that bunnies are low-maintenance pets that can be left in a cage, she said.

"Bunnies are social animals that like interaction with people and other animals," said Kirrene. "They also can be in homes with dogs and cats if the animals are bunny-friendly."

What Kirrene does not recommend is placing a rabbit in a home with small children who do not know how to be gentle.

"A rabbit's skeleton only makes up 7 percent of its body mass," she said. "They are quite fragile and can break legs and backs very easily."

They are, however, easy to litter box-train, she said.

Kirrene moved over to another cage in the bunny room.

She pointed out three orange-beige baby rabbits that had been left with their mother on the steps of the food bank in Ranch Cordova last month with a note: "We can no longer afford to feed."

The little golden rabbits, which are Harlequin-miniature lop mixes, seemed less scared than their compatriots. Two of them were born with one ear up and one down.

"They got half a lop," said Kirrene cheerily.

The last sibling has two "straight" ears.

By the end of the day Friday, two of the three babies had found homes.

A few cages over, Katy, a 1-year-old white rabbit with brown spots, drank greedily from the water dispenser attached to a bar. Then she busied herself with licking her thumper of a paw and rubbing it across her pinkish ear to clean it.

Nearby, Leon, a 3-month-old black-Polish mix rabbit, twitched his muzzle to sniff a person walking by.

A half-dozen other rabbits slept or warily watched the activity outside their kennels.

Because of the influx of rabbits coming to the agency, the SPCA has reduced its rabbit adoption fees to $20, which includes the spay or neuter of the animal until the end of this month.

"Twenty dollars, and they are ready to roll, or rather, ready to hop," Kirrene said.

The Sacramento SPCA, at 6201 Florin Perkins Road, is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

Call (916) 383-PETS or visit www.sspca.org for more information.

Call The Bee's Melissa Nix, (916) 478-2653.